Last Friday On Oct 24, 2023, there was a city council request calling for the city sidewalk vending ordinance to be amended in order to comply with state law. The request proposes city officials to create new vending rules to sell in busy tourist places.
– The no vending zones in city sidewalk vending ordinance with other restrictive regulations, are the subject of a lawsuit filed in December 2022.
– On september 17, 2018 , former governor Jerry Brown signed senate bill 946, also known as the safe sidewalk vending act. However, in Los Angeles street vendors are still not allowed to sell their product in populated places.
This new proposal would allow vendors to sell in Los Angeles’ most populated areas. As it stands, vendors are not allowed to sell in areas with high traffic. This includes areas such as LA Live, Olvera St, and Hollywood Blvd. This also includes event venues such as the Hollywood Bowl, the Dodgers stadium and other concert and sports venues throughout the city.
A local street vendor named Pedro Hernandez said “it would be a very good idea to be able to sell our food in populated places because there is more room to make money.” Pedro has been selling elotes, churros, raspandos for about 4 years; he sells in the area of Huntington park.
– Another vendor named Juan near the APB neighborhood said “They couldn’t sell on that corner before and they would ask and ask to sell there till one day they heard of the law that could help them sell their tacos.”
Juan sells tacos and has been there for a year and a half, selling at the corner of the laundromat.
A Tamale street vendor named Diego Villalobos, who is related to an APB student Edgar Villalobos, sells his tamales a few streets down from APB. Juan shares his concerns for fellow street vendors. He says, “da pena saber que muchos de nuestros vendedores están en las calles con miedo que les digan algo los oficiales, y que no podrían vender sus cosas y no poder soportar a sus familias”.
The trial is set for February 2024 where the city will decide on restructuring the vending zones around Los Angeles.