Council Opens Debate on Limited Legal Street Vending

The Los Angeles City Council--apparently on the verge of a limited legalization of street vending--opened a public debate on the issue Friday that ranged over topics as diverse as immigration, public health and racism.

Supporters said they believe they will have the votes Wednesday to legalize sidewalk and street sales, although public opinion on the matter was widely divided at the City Hall hearing.

Some speakers said the legalization of vending, although limited to a few approved zones, would be yet another sop to illegal immigrants who are putting an undue burden on more permanent business people.

“Right now as a country we cannot afford to have everyone in the world who wants to work come here,” Stanley DiCarlo told the council. “I want to remind you, you were not elected in the Third World, you were elected by the people of this city.”

Olympia Hernandez, a member of the 500-member Street Vendors Assn., criticized opponents of the law for using racist appeals. She said vendors are being unfairly targeted when their only crime is trying to make a living.

“We want to work honestly and with dignity, and we have been waiting for a long time,” Hernandez said.

Under the law, vending would be allowed in up to eight special districts, which would be identified later. Vendors would also be forced to pay a licensing fee of up to $600, to buy a standardized pushcart and to obtain a health permit. The city will not check citizenship or residency status as part of the process. In the remainder of the city, selling goods on the sidewalk or street would still be illegal.

The ban on street sales has been largely unenforced as police concentrate on more serious crimes. But supporters of limited legalization hope to make the proposal more palatable to opponents by agreeing to a parallel plan to crack down on illegal vending.

Opponents said Friday that the regulations will not eliminate their basic objections to street vending. “In order to have a job in this country, you should be a citizen of this country,” said San Fernando Valley activist Mary Lou Holte, who presented a petition with several hundred signatures opposing legalization. “I don’t think any of these people are.”

Greg Smith, a spokesman for a group of African American merchants, said vendors who do not have rent and other overhead costs can unfairly discount the prices for their goods. Ryan Song, executive director of the Korean American Grocers Assn., added that illegal vendors do not pay taxes and cut into business of merchants who do. He also said that vendors do not give the attention to health concerns that store owners do.

Industrial equipment salesman Candido Marez, however, urged the critics to remember their own beginnings. Marez said he came to Los Angeles from Colorado more than 20 years ago, selling oranges on the street to get on his feet.

“It’s not just illegal aliens,” Marez said. “For a lot of us, it’s the place we go to start and to get a business education.”

Councilman Hal Bernson offered amendments Friday that would force the legal vendors to pay rent, in addition to other costs, to help pay for enforcement.

Councilwoman Jackie Goldberg, a sponsor of the vending law, said she would not support the amendments. The fees outlined in the ordinance cover enforcement, Goldberg said. And she argued that in some cases, police may be needed to back up city inspectors in rooting out illegal vendors.