You can sell flowers, art and food on Halifax roads, but selling golf balls is out of bounds.

A 78-year-old Halifax man who sold golf balls on the roadside for 15 years has been put out of business by the city.

Ralph Henneberry is retired and sells the balls along the St. Margarets Bay Road as a hobby.

“I enjoy it. I have to be busy. I'm not going to sit here for the rest of my life waiting to die. I'm not ready for that,” he said Friday.

I've been told by the city that I'm a criminal. - Ralph Henneberry

But a staffer with the Halifax Regional Municipality came out to the road and told him to stop three weeks ago.

“He said you will never get a permit to sell in HRM. That's his exact words,” Henneberry said.

Henneberry was told someone complained to the city about the location of his roadside stand.

“I felt really rejected. I didn't know where to turn,” he said. “I've been told by the city that I'm a criminal. That I broke the law, and I'll never get a permit in Halifax.”

He spends hours a day sorting, cleaning and packaging used golf balls into egg cartons to sell. It brings in under $5,000 a year, he said.

Looking for a new spot

Halifax spokeswoman Jennifer Stairs said you can sell food, art or flowers on certain parts of city roads — but you can’t sell golf balls anywhere on city roads.

“The best advice would be to either sell it on their own private property or to try to obtain permission from someone in the area who owns land that is off of municipal property,” she said.

Henneberry is now looking for someone with roadside property to let him set up shop.