HUNTINGTON BEACH : 5 Appointed to Panel on Pushcart Vending

The City Council has appointed five residents to serve on a nine-member committee that will propose guidelines for pushcart vendors in the downtown shopping district.

The committee, which also includes four city staff members, is scheduled to recommend to the council next month whether pushcart vendors should be permitted downtown and, if so, under what conditions.

The members appointed to the committee are Charles Ailey, a retired business executive; Thomas Bagshaw, a restaurant owner and president of a pier fund-raising group; Ari Gati, operator of a hot dog pushcart and the son of a major downtown developer; Marilyn Salem, a bicycle shop owner, and Nancy Wylie, a yogurt shop owner and secretary of the Downtown Merchants Guild.

The city code does not clearly state whether pushcart or kiosk vendors are permitted downtown. Three such vendors currently operate in the area--Gati’s hot dog stand, a kiosk florist and a pushcart cappuccino bar.

The pushcart vendors contend they are legitimate businesses that, if permitted to expand their numbers, would encourage pedestrian traffic and enhance the area. Many longtime merchants say they would clutter up Main Street and pose unfair competition.

The committee will devise guidelines. If the pushcart vendors are permitted, the group will recommend guidelines that may restrict where they are located or what they may sell.