What Happened?
On Tuesday, City Council voted to eliminate the seven broad “No-Street-Vending Zones” across the city. The ordinance approved by City Council on Tuesday leaves in place existing safety regulations around street vending, but eliminates the blanket bans on street vending in parts of the city.
When SB 946 decriminalized street vending across California in 2018, LA City Council established the following zones where vending would still be completely prohibited:
Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Bowl
Dodger Stadium
LA LIVE/Crypto.com Arena
Universal Studios/Citywalk
El Pueblo De Los Angeles Historical Monument
Exposition Park
Now that this ordinance was passed by council on Tuesday, vending will once again be legalized in these high-opportunity areas.
Why it Matters
Vendors say that since these zones were first established in 2018, they have been used to target and harass hard working immigrant entrepreneurs with arbitrary enforcement
Street vendors contribute so much to the cultural fabric of LA. After decades of harassment and neglect, we are saying that we see you, we value you, and we are ready to collaborate with you to build a more just system in the City of Los Angeles.
As the son of street vendors, I remember taking my parents to the meetings back in 2012 to advocate against these No-Vending Zones. Now after so much organizing from vendor organizations like Community Power Collective and Inclusive Action for the City, it was an emotional experience to be able to take this vote and bring these hardworking entrepreneurs out of the shadows and into the formal economy.
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