Task Force Formed to Study Legalizing of Street Vendors : Woo Says L.A.’s Laws Are Toughest of Any Major City

Maria Elena Chacon sat silently on the steps of City Hall on Friday morning, another face in the crowd as Los Angeles City Councilman Michael Woo announced plans for a task force on legalized street vending.

Unlike many onlookers, however, Chacon had more than a passing interest in the proceedings. The Salvadoran refugee, who supports her family by selling food and clothing on the streets of her inner-city neighborhood, said she is tired of police cracking down on her business.

“My friends and I have been arrested; they’ve confiscated our goods; they’ve even taken our personal belongings,” the 32-year-old Chacon said through an interpreter. “All of us are afraid right now. . . . We fled from oppression. We expected to find more opportunity here.”

Chacon is looking for answers from Woo’s task force, which will spend the next three months studying ways to legalize street vending. The task force, made up of business people, police and vendors, was appointed by Woo and will make recommendations to the city.

Chacon and other vendors, selling everything from hot dogs to hydrangeas, say it is time Los Angeles joined other like-sized cities in legalizing the street sale of goods.

“This is a problem that the city should have taken into account a long time ago,” said Francisco Flores, who heads the Assn. of Ambulatory Street Vendors, a group of about 200 people who make their living from outdoor sales. “People should be able to sell comfortably on the streets, especially when you (realize) that this is a city of immigrants.”

Woo said he supports the vendors. While the councilman did not offer any specific proposals for legalizing street vending, he agreed that there is no reason why local vendors should be hounded off of the streets.

“This city has the most restrictive street vending ordinances of any major city in the country, maybe even the world,” Woo said. “That’s absurd. Properly regulated, street vending adds vitality to the streets of a city. It also provides a livelihood for immigrants.”

Street vending has been a problematic issue in Los Angeles for years. While an estimated 2,000 vendors, many of them Central Americans, ply their trade here, city laws prohibit the great majority of curbside sales. Past efforts at legalization have met some resistance from merchants, who say street vendors interfere with business. Others say a health hazard is posed by the open air sale of such food items as baked goods, fresh fruit and frozen desserts.

Public Health

But Woo said there should be a way to regulate the industry to everyone’s satisfaction. He said certain “street sale zones” could be established. Licensing could also be restricted to certain items that do not pose a threat to area businesses or the public health, he added.

Los Angeles Police Capt. Gregory R. Berg, who joined Woo at the press conference, said police would welcome a change in the laws, because they have better things to do than arrest street vendors.

“It’s refreshing to see the city doing something about this problem,” Berg said. “This is a good opportunity for us to make some sense of a persistent irritation.”

Under current city laws, flowers and hot dogs are among the only items that can be legally sold on the streets. Flower vending is allowed within the confines of the city’s central business district and hot dog sales are permitted if local health codes are met.

Albert Sappietro, an immigrant from Argentina who operates a downtown hot dog cart, said street vending offers newcomers one of their best opportunities for success.

“This is better than any other job I’ve had,” said Sappietro, who spent several months picking grapes. “Besides, people like the idea of walking down the street with a hot dog and a soda.”