The Los Angeles City Council voted Tuesday to lift a ban on vending in seven high-traffic areas in the city, including the Hollywood Bowl and Dodger Stadium, as nearly 100 street vendors took seats.
The vending zone was established by a 2018 ordinance that decriminalized street vending elsewhere in the city and created rules and regulations for sellers. Other no-sale zones that have been lifted are the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Crypto.com Arena, Universal Studios, El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historic Monument, and Exposition Park.
City officials said at the time that street vendors were contributing to congestion in these congested areas, but provided no data to support that claim. A 2018 California law decriminalized street vending across the state and limited local governments from restricting sidewalk vending unless there was an “objective health, safety, or welfare concern.”
In 2022, two street vendors and three community groups sued the city, claiming the no-sale zone violated state law. The city didn't have enough evidence to ban street sales in those areas, they said.
“We reviewed thousands of pages of city documents and records and found nothing to support why they identified these areas,” said the pro bono law firm representing the vendors. said Joshua Bush, communications director for Public Counsel. “It needs to be an objective assessment, not just someone’s intuition or concerns.”
The City Council motion that led to the elimination of the no-sale zone acknowledged that the city's street vending ordinance needed to be amended “to ensure compliance with state law.”
Other regulations governing where street vendors can sell will remain in place, including a ban on vending booths within 5 feet of fire hydrants and within 3 feet of streetlights and parking meters.
“Today's vote is to bring the city in line with state standards,” said Councilman Hugo Sotomartinez, who introduced the motion with City Council President Paul Krekorian.
“We basically took away some of the most popular areas for street vendors,” Sotomartinez said. “It's going to be huge for them to be able to be there without fear of being ticketed or harassed. They're part of the social fabric of the city.”
Marlin Alvarado, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, has been selling fruit and hot dogs on Hollywood Boulevard for 17 years. Although she has been nominated several times for selling near the Walk of Fame, she still chooses to sell there because of the abundance of potential customers.
Eliminating the no-sale zone will allow businesses to reach customers without the threat of subpoenas or fines, she said in Spanish. Alvarado, from Tegucigalpa, Honduras, uses the profits from her street sales to support her three children.
“Street vending often provides new immigrants with the opportunity to become entrepreneurs,” Krekorian says. “Street vendors can play an important role in the life of a vibrant commercial district if regulated wisely.”
In a separate vote Tuesday, the City Council lowered the street vendor permit fee from $291 to $27.51. Sotomartinez and Krekorian had family members who were street vendors in Los Angeles.
Although the City Council has addressed a key part of Alvarado's case by eliminating the no-sale zone, Public Attorney Bush said he still intends to proceed with the trial, scheduled for Feb. 15.
“While this is a huge step forward and certainly a win for Los Angeles vendors, it also has important limitations in that it does not address citations or fines,” he said.
Mr. Bush wants street vendors to be reimbursed for the losses Scientists incur when selling in “illegal” no-sale zones. He also wants all pending citations removed.
On Tuesday, Mr. Bush and street vendors celebrated the victory at City Hall. Sotomartinez said the vendors have been fighting for this victory for years.
“The work of those organizing on the ground every day should be celebrated,” he said.
