Meeting could put city on road to legalizing street vendors.

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After several years of talks, the Los Angeles City Council will take its first steps to formally legalize street vending in a public hearing on Dec. 12 that will offer community stakeholders an opportunity to weigh in on the issue.

While many of the details still have to be ironed out, Councilmen Joe Buscaino and Curren Price believe that a proposal they co-authored and put forward last month should provide the framework for legislation that could be passed by the end of March, according to Price.

The councilmen have also asked City Attorney Mike Feuer to immediately decriminalize street vending, a move aimed at protecting undocumented immigrants from being flagged for deportation by the incoming Trump administration.

The roughly 50,000 street vendors in Los Angeles contribute about $500 million to the city’s economy annually, according to a study by Economic Roundtable, a downtown research group.

“Everyone agrees the current regulation doesn’t work,” said Price, claiming poorly understood and enforced street vending laws. “L.A. is the only big city around that doesn’t have a policy on this.”

There has been pushback from owners of brick-and-mortar restaurants and business group leaders, who argue that street vendors selling tamales, fruit, and even flowers free of the burden of property taxes, health inspections, and other business regulations represent a direct threat to their livelihood.

“We want to make sure the playing field is level and fair, that one entity isn’t shouldering more burden than another,” said Jessica Lall, incoming chief executive of downtown’s Central City Association of Los Angeles. “The hoops that brick-and-mortars have to jump through can cost a lot of money and take a lot of time.”

For example, property owners in business improvement districts are assessed fees of hundreds of dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars annually, depending on how much property they own and the property’s location, she said.

To address those concerns, Price and Buscaino have proposed a number of actions, including a permitting process for street vendors, the imposition of business improvement district fees, a street vending ban outside the hours of 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., and restrictions on vending in certain areas subject to the wishes of local communities and businesses.

“Street vending is a real component of economic development,” said Price.

What’s still unclear is how brick-and-mortar establishments would be able to lodge objections against licensed vendors operating outside their storefronts.

Price said he is looking for a middle ground that gives restaurants a voice in the process, but not a veto.

“We don’t want somebody selling hot dogs in front of a store that is also selling hot dogs,” he said. “We want to provide some sensitivity and opportunity for the brick and mortars and vendors to co-exist.”

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