The Los Angeles Metropolitan area has an estimated 50,000 street vendors — 10,000 selling food.
From tacos and tamales to bacon-wrapped hot dogs and fresh fruit, buying delicious food from carts and table stands on the sidewalk is something locals and tourists enjoy about our diverse city, and street food is an iconic part of LA's cultural and culinary scene.
However, for many years, vendors were restricted from selling in parts of the city, or they would get ticketed.
Tourist hotspots were off-limits, including the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Hollywood Bowl and Dodger Stadium.
On this week's "In Focus SoCal," host Ariel Wesler examines amendments to street vendor ordinances that have gone into effect in Southern California and what the new rules and regulations mean for street vendors.
After coalitions of street vendors advocated an end to "no-street-vending" zones and California decriminalized street vending, it was up to local jurisdictions to determine city and county regulations.
In March, the LA City Council approved an ordinance eliminating "no-street-vending zones," and that was a major win for street vendors.
Wesler spoke with Council member Hugo Soto-Martinez, who, along with Council President Paul Krekorian, introduced the ordinance to allow street vendors to operate legally in seven restricted tourist areas of Los Angeles.
LA City Council President Soto-Martinez shared details of the new law.
"We were able to get rid of and be in line with the state regulations to get rid of the large broad sweeping prohibitions across the city of LA," Soto-Martinez adds, "What we're saying is, if it's going to be on city streets we welcome the street vending, but we do want folks to get the permits, we do want folks to follow the rules that are on the books as of now, and yeah, we want to bring people into the process and out of the shadows of doing this without any oversight."
The council also voted to reduce the permit fees required.
"We also did a reduction of the fees, it's now going from $541 to $28 and we hope that brings more folks into the city process," said Soto-Martinez. "We want to make it easier for folks we want to bring them in, it's yet to be determined how many folks now engage with it, but we do hope it's going to be helpful."
Councilman Soto-Martinez shared the role that food vending plays as an important economic pathway for financial stability for people in immigrant and low-income communities.
"It's part of the cultural experience of where we come from. I've seen folks start their business on the street and then eventually go and get a restaurant, a brick and mortar. I see these folks being entrepreneurs getting a step up in a very difficult economy, but then eventually spreading out and starting franchises, which we have seen here in the city, so I just think it's a beautiful culture we need to continue to empower."
Long Beach also enacted a new sidewalk vending ordinance, effective in February.
Under the new ordinance, all sidewalk vendors are required to obtain a business license, and if they're selling food, they need a health permit. Wesler spoke with the Vice Mayor of Long Beach, Cindy Allen, who says one of the main concerns is public health and safety, and the importance of vendors following the same rules as the brick-and-mortar establishments.
Allen pointed out the main difference between the new and original ordinances.
"We didn't have rules regarding permits and where the vendors could be located, whether it be schools, parks, roadways, buildings," she said. "We didn't have an ordinance that we could enforce. And so it was kind of like the Wild West when it came to vendors operating in the city of Long Beach."
Long Beach held numerous outreach events while drafting the new sidewalk vending ordinance.
Allen shared the feedback and concerns from businesses, vendors, and community stakeholders.
"A lot of the concerns is where they're operating and not following the rules that brick-and-mortar businesses were following," she said. "And also vendors themselves had issues with the cost of getting a business license, the cost of getting established."
"We came up with a fair and balanced ordinance that addresses the need for us to help new street vendors entering this line of business. It is an entryway. We have had several vendors in the city of Long Beach that have gone on to grow their business, whether it's in food trucks or brick-and-mortars," she added.
Robert Ramirez is a street food vendor who started "Rob's Pizza Mind" a few years ago, but food wasn't always his business.
He was a full-time forklift driver until he lost his job during the pandemic in October 2020.
He always enjoyed frequenting food vendors, so he decided to launch his own business as another source of income.
Ramirez says the biggest challenge was navigating the process.
"From canopies, nets, ovens, propane tanks, you name it, tables. I didn't know who to talk to about any of this. I had to do a lot of searching by myself, you know, looking stuff up on the internet asking people that were vendors," he said. Ramirez says he would like to see more training classes and education for street vendors, but he doesn't believe food vendors take away business from traditional brick-and-mortar businesses. He adds, "The competition has been there before us vendors, you know, and I don't see it as competition. You know, there's enough people in this world for everyone to help. Everything we put into this, you know, it's our heart."
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