By every account we have heard, the debut of the Siesta Key Farmers’ Market was a resounding success. Davidson’s Plaza was bustling with happy people – both shoppers and vendors.

Bryan Eible should be heartily commended for the effort he put into creating this event. For two years, he struggled to overcome one bureaucratic hurdle after another – and a last-minute assault launched by self-appointed watchdogs caused him unnecessary anxiety as he was making his final preparations last week.

Eible was warned by county Zoning Administrator Tina Crawford that the market’s provisions, as presented on his Web site, violated the ordinance the county approved for the market last summer. Zoning staff showed up even before the vendors arrived on Sunday to check out what was there.

However, we understand that Commissioner Nora Patterson, who represents Siesta Key on the county board, has assured Eible the ordinance will be changed to allow all the features shoppers found so delightful. Given the extraordinarily tough economy right now, we are pleased that Patterson saw what a boon the market can be for Siesta Village businesses.

We urge the county commission to proceed post-haste in modifying the ordinance. If that does happen, it will be a profoundly happy circumstance. For once, the old adage, "No good deed goes unpunished," will be undone.