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PRESENTED BY: ,~
/
JO..£'E HUIZAR. ..8'Ouncilmember, District 14
SECONDED BY: ~~.
~L~/. . RREN D. PRICE, JR.Councilmember, District 9 t
/3-/L./Q3NOV 0 6 2013
~ {JF~.13-0qeD. . 1J8. Ot:?/ /- <f-3Street vending on the City right-of-way and sidewalk is illegal. In the average year, thereare hundreds of tickets written to vendors, and several hundred arrests. Yet thousands ofvendors continue to operate in an underground marketplace, selling a wide variety of foodand merchandise on the sidewalks of Los Angeles.
1.;F~9N9~ICDEVElOPME~r, UBlk., ~/VURK~& \;A'~G REDUCTIC
MOTION
Street vending largely falls within two categories, food street vending and merchandise(non-food) street vending, each with their own complexities. Street vending is permitted invarious forms by most other large cities. New York, San Francisco, Houston, Portland andChicago are among the cities that have established a regulatory system for sellingmerchandise and/or food on city sidewalks.
In Los Angeles, a more comprehensive legal framework is required to effectively addresssidewalk vending. An effective regulatory system has the potential to protect health andincrease public safety and economic activity. Such a policy should also consider the rightsand investments of brick-and-mortar businesses, including opportunities to expand andpromote their businesses through street vending and with the overall goal of enhancingeconomic growth and the viability of neighborhoods.
I THEREFORE MOVE, that the CLA, along with Bureau of Street Services and inconsultation with other Departments as needed, the City Attorney and the County of LosAngeles, be instructed to prepare and present a report within 90 days withrecommendations on possible regulation that could effectively permit and regulate foodstreet vending on City sidewalks and parkways. This report should include the following:the history and status of the Special Sidewalk Vending District program administered bythe former Community Development Department; a review of pollclesln other jurisdictions;recommendations to improve public safety; and ways to ensure street food vendorsprovide safe and healthy food options.
I FURTHER MOVE, that the CLA, along with Economic and Workforce DevelopmentDepartment, City Attorney and Bureau of Street Services, and in consultation with otherDepartments as needed, be instructed to prepare and present a report within 90 days withrecommendations on possible regulation of merchandise and non-food street vending inthe City of Los Angeles. This report should include the following: information on thenumber of citations that have been issued over the past year and where the citations wereissued; the current regulations on street vending and how the regulations are enforced;potential legal constraints for regulating street vending; and a review of policies in other '.ju risdictions.
'i 2010
6/17/2014 Council Move to Legalize Street Vending Sparks Opposition in Downtown - Los Angeles Downtown News - For Everything Downtown L.A.! : News
http://www.ladowntownnews.com/news/council-move-to-legalize-street-vending-sparks-opposition-in-downtown/article_6c8acce4-f347-11e3-935e-001a4bcf887a.… 1/4
Council Move to Legalize Street Vending SparksOpposition in Downtown
By Eddie Kim | Posted: Monday, June 16, 2014 5:00 am
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — Street vending is
illegal in Los Angeles. Yet as every Downtown worker
or resident knows, it flourishes in the Central City,
with hot dog sellers, clothing hawkers and more often
popping up on sidewalks.
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Now, a pair of City Council members has embarked on
an effort to legalize and regulate the practice, arguing
that doing so would bring vendors out of the shadows
and allow them to contribute to the local economy.
That, however, has sparked an outcry from some local
business and community leaders, who worry that the
move would hamper Downtown’s revitalization and
harm brick-and-mortar businesses. They also believe
the city simply can’t regulate a swell of newly
empowered vendors.
“Downtown is a unique community, and sidewalk vending can get in the way of growing a
neighborhood,” said Kent Smith, executive director of the Fashion District Business Improvement
District. “If the city implements a new framework for street vending, that’s one thing. But where is it
getting the resources to maintain it? I like the happy world of regulation, but I don’t think it’s the
reality.”
The implications of street vending have been discussed for years, and in November 14th District City
Councilman José Huizar and Ninth District rep Curren Price authored a motion to look at legalizing
the practice. In May, the Chief Legislative Analyst’s office issued a seven-page preliminary report
recommending Los Angeles adopt a citywide street vending program.
Although details are still being worked out, the early plan involves creating a regulatory structure with
a slew of rules regarding where vendors can work, how many can operate on a block, how far they
must be from storefront businesses, what fees they need to pay and more. No timeline for
Council Move to Legalize Street
Vending Sparks Opposition in
Downtown
The city is examining ways to permit and
regulate street venders. Though illegal, the
practice, whether in the form of mobile hot
dog carts or clothing sellers, is ubiquitous
across Downtown.
6/17/2014 Council Move to Legalize Street Vending Sparks Opposition in Downtown - Los Angeles Downtown News - For Everything Downtown L.A.! : News
http://www.ladowntownnews.com/news/council-move-to-legalize-street-vending-sparks-opposition-in-downtown/article_6c8acce4-f347-11e3-935e-001a4bcf887a.… 2/4
implementation has been revealed.
Huizar said government involvement is required because the status quo is unsustainable and hurts both
storefront shops and vendors alike.
“The system we have right now, no matter where you stand on the debate, it’s broken and everyone
needs a regulatory system,” Huizar said. “We need to allow vendors to sell their wares while putting
mechanisms in place to protect brick-and-mortar businesses.”
Although street vending is ubiquitous in Downtown, it is most pronounced in the Fashion District,
where dozens of mobile food carts and clothing and accessory vendors can set up shop on weekends.
The Historic Core also sees numerous vendors, and South Park sidewalks swell when large events take
place at Staples Center or L.A. Live.
While she says she understands the argument that vendors are just trying to earn a living, Blair Besten,
executive director of the Historic Downtown Los Angeles Business Improvement District, said that
they can create problems in a neighborhood. Sidewalk blockages caused by vendors can force
pedestrians to walk in a street filled with cars, Besten said. She added that people have been burned by
hot griddles on mobile food carts.
Unscrupulous vendors also leave behind piles of trash, she said. She recalled an incident in which a
vendor dumped his hot dog water into an alley by the Flower Street Lofts, attracting a clan of hungry
rats.
“We had to call our team to go clean that mess up,” Besten said. “It’s not fair for the businesses who
are paying us for clean-and-safe crews to have to deal with these street vendors.”
Past Failure
This isn’t the first time the matter has come up. In 1994, the city adopted the Special Sidewalk
Vending District Ordinance. That allowed the formation of vending districts in eight areas, including
East Los Angeles and the Central City. It was largely a failure, however, as only one was ever
established, at MacArthur Park, and it no longer exists.
The CLA report suggested that the ordinance failed because of an overly complicated district
establishment process. Today, numerous difficulties remain, with vendors complaining that
enforcement from the police department is confusing and arbitrary, with some vendors receiving
warnings and others being arrested.
The CLA report was discussed at a packed May 13 hearing before the Council’s Economic
Development Committee, on which Huizar sits. During several hours of testimony, those in favor of
regulation charged that arrests have led to the deportation of undocumented immigrants. An LAPD
representative pointed to other negative impacts, saying that the threat of punitive action makes some
vendors wary of reporting robberies and attempts at extortion from local gangs, who will charge a
6/17/2014 Council Move to Legalize Street Vending Sparks Opposition in Downtown - Los Angeles Downtown News - For Everything Downtown L.A.! : News
http://www.ladowntownnews.com/news/council-move-to-legalize-street-vending-sparks-opposition-in-downtown/article_6c8acce4-f347-11e3-935e-001a4bcf887a.… 3/4
“tax” when the mobile sellers set up in certain districts.
Confusion also arises because vendors can obtain city business tax registration and permits to serve
food from the county Department of Public Health, said Isella Gracian, vice president of operations
for the East Los Angeles Community Corporation, which is working with Huizar and Price on the
topic.
“People go in to do the paperwork and pay for what seems to be all the right permits, and so you can
imagine how shocked they are when LAPD comes and arrests them,” Gracian said.
Micro-Business View
Several people at the May 13 committee meeting said they turned to street vending after losing their
job or as a way to get out of homelessness.
“With jobs, I’m discriminated against not for the color of my skin or my features, but my age,”
testified Felice McGuinness, a vendor in Leimert Park. “But joining the ranks of homeless African
Americans is not an option for me. I want to earn my way, and street vending has allowed me to stay
afloat.”
Advocates for street vendors say they contribute to the economy and could do so on a greater scale
with a proper system of registration and taxation. The view is shared by Price.
“We need to use all of our tools to promote the local economy,” Price said. “We shouldn’t overlook
these micro-businesses, and we need to find a way to formalize this entrepreneurship, because it’s
been going on for a long time in this city.”
Gracian maintains that brick-and-mortar businesses don’t need to view street vendors as adversaries.
The CLA report referenced a study of the Portland, Ore., street vending scene that found that food
carts had “positive impacts on street vitality and neighborhood life” in high-density downtown areas.
That’s not very convincing to Downtown Los Angeles opponents of the current proposal, who see
huge question marks over vendors’ accountability and their ability to benefit neighborhoods.
“We have concerns about how vendors will factor in terms of contributing to the BIDs or otherwise to
keep our streets clean and safe, and what can be done to maintain distance from storefront
businesses,” said Jessica Lall, executive director of the South Park Business Improvement District.
Huizar and Price have said that fees collected through a new permitting system could help pay for a
dedicated police unit to deal with street vendors and fund additional resources for county and city
agencies. Still, Smith, Besten and Lall are doubtful that a cash-strapped city would be able to enforce
any new ordinance. The issue isn’t with legal vendors doing things right, Besten said. The worry is that
illegal vendors will also flock to Downtown and will take advantage of lax enforcement.
“There’s no point if the cops come by once with a warning and don’t return for the rest of the day,”
6/17/2014 Council Move to Legalize Street Vending Sparks Opposition in Downtown - Los Angeles Downtown News - For Everything Downtown L.A.! : News
http://www.ladowntownnews.com/news/council-move-to-legalize-street-vending-sparks-opposition-in-downtown/article_6c8acce4-f347-11e3-935e-001a4bcf887a.… 4/4
Besten said.
The Economic Development Committee will meet again in August to discuss the matter. At the same
time, the office of the city Chief Administrative Officer will prepare another report, this one
examining funding mechanisms and cost estimates of a citywide street vending program.
Twitter: @eddiekimx
© Los Angeles Downtown News 2014
6/17/2014 Gmail - Fwd: FW: Street Vending Report
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Eric Garcia <[email protected]>
Fwd: FW: Street Vending Report1 message
Patti Berman <[email protected]> Tue, Jun 10, 2014 at 2:25 PMReply-To: [email protected]: [email protected]
From: Kent Smith [mailto:[email protected]]
Here are a number of bullet points on illegal sidewalk vending:
1. First Pilot Project: In 1998, McArthur Park was used as a pilot project for sidewalk vending.It was a failure because of a lack of enforcement of illegal vending elsewhere. There was noreason for vendors to obey the rules & locate within the vending district. The City does not andwill not have the capability to enforce sidewalk vending rules. Legitimizing sidewalk vending byestablishing vending districts will only encourage the proliferation of vending throughout the City.The City does not have the resources to effectively enforce a legalized sidewalk vending regimecity wide.
2. Sidewalk Repairs: Sidewalk vending would allow the private commercial use of the sidewalkat a time when the City of Los Angeles is considering making the adjacent property ownerresponsible for sidewalk repair & replacement. Allowing sidewalk vending could prevent the Cityfrom assigning responsibility of sidewalks to property owners.
3. Liability: The City already pays millions of dollars in claims for slip & falls on sidewalks.Allowing private commercial use in the form of sidewalk blending blurs the responsibility forsidewalk slip & falls…how can property owners take responsibility for this when they do notcontrol the use of the sidewalk. Property owners cannot be held responsible for the sidewalkswhen the City permits the private use of these sidewalks for vending without their consent.
4. ADA Compliance: Sidewalks are often narrow & sidewalk vending can put the City at riskfor ADA lawsuits & force pedestrians onto the street creating safety hazards. The City does nothave the capability to enforce sidewalk vendors to comply with ADA .
5. Trash Removal: Sidewalk vending generates trash and unlike BIDS where property ownerspay for trash removal on the public sidewalk there is no mechanism to ensure the payment oftrash removal by sidewalk vendors. The Fashion District has operated a volunteer program fortrash removal generated by mobile vendors for a number of years but with no enforcement, only4 mobile vendors out of more than a hundred pay for this service. Almost all the rest of themobile vendors use BID receptacles at no charge or dump their trash on the street. In addition
6/17/2014 Gmail - Fwd: FW: Street Vending Report
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most BIDs are paying millions of dollars per year to keep the sidewalks clean through dailysweeping & pressure washing. No sidewalk vendors will contribute to maintain neighborhoodsthrough a BID assessment.
6. Permit Compliance: Normally when the City allows private use of the public sidewalks,permits are required. In the case of sidewalk dining these permits are revocable & are expensive.Even special events using the public sidewalk require permits. This gives the community andneighbors a chance to comment & express their concerns about the use of the sidewalk. How willthe public have input on sidewalk vending in their neighborhood? Will sidewalk vendors need apermit to sell at a particular location?
7. Sales Tax and Property Taxes: Commercial districts are integral to creating greatneighborhoods and the addition of ground floor small businesses have been the key ingredient inthe revitalization of every neighborhood in Los Angeles from downtown to Granada Hills & LincolnHeights. Sidewalk vendors do not pay BID assessments and do not contribute to theseneighborhoods. Bricks & mortar small businesses go through an expensive permitting process andspend a large amount of money providing restrooms and common areas for their customers.Sidewalk vendors have no such requirements & therefore have a competitive advantage overthese neighborhood small businesses. In fact their common area is the public sidewalk which ispaid for by property taxes, the responsibility of property owners and merchants through theirrents not by sidewalk vendors. There is also no mechanism to ensure that sales taxes paid willbenefit the City of Los Angeles. This is especially true when many commissaries are locatedoutside the City of LA.
8. Diminished Quality of Life in Neighborhoods: Mobile vendors who pay one parking ticketa day as their rent already use the sidewalk as their customer space and unfairly compete withneighborhood small businesses. Residents and businesses have no say as to where these mobilevendors locate or their hours of operation. Legitimizing sidewalk vending will continue to erode theviability of neighborhood businesses and will ultimately lead to the deterioration of the quality oflife of its residents.
9. The Fashion District is already overrun with mobile food vendors. This is especially trueon weekends . For example on Saturday March 22, 2014 there were 91 mobile food vendors in thedistrict concentrated in heavy pedestrian blocks. The highest pedestrian blocks had 8-9 mobilevendors per block. As the City has no control over where mobile vendors can set up it would betotally unsafe for pedestrians to be faced with sidewalk vendors taking the same portion ofsidewalk as mobile vendors Mobile vendors use the sidewalk for their customers who order foodfrom the sidewalk. In order to ensure public safety no sidewalk vending should be permittedwhere curb parking is legal to prevent mobile & sidewalk vendors using the same portion ofsidewalk. Otherwise it will be a significant safety hazard for pedestrians. Similarly it will also be asignificant safety hazard to have sidewalk vending at intersections. Finally given the large numberof unregulated mobile food vendors why is it necessary to allow sidewalk vending when anyonecan participate in mobile vending in Los Angeles?
I hope these comments are helpful in drafting your final report.
Kent Smith,
Executive Director
LA Fashion District BID
6/17/2014 Gmail - Fwd: FW: Street Vending Report
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110 E. 9th Street, Ste. A-1175
Los Angeles, CA 90079
213.488.1153 Ex. 712
From: Felipe Valladolid Chavez [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, April 04, 2014 11:23 AMTo: [email protected]; [email protected]: Street Vending Report
Good Morning,
I want to thank you both for all your input and assistance with this issue. To ensure that Icapture all of your concerns, will you please forward me a list of the issues you have brought tothe table regarding street vending? I will make sure these are included in some format in the CLAreport that moves forward to Council.
Thank you again for your help and let me know if you have any questions.
- Felipe
--
___________________________________
Felipe Valladolid Chavez
Legislative Analyst
Office of the Chief Legislative Analyst
Los Angeles City Council
255 City Hall
6/17/2014 Gmail - Fwd: FW: Street Vending Report
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200 N. Spring Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
p: 213.473.5729
6/17/2014 Gmail - Fwd: LA Times :: Sidewalk Vending: Health Safety Issues
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Eric Garcia <[email protected]>
Fwd: LA Times :: Sidewalk Vending: Health Safety Issues1 message
Patti Berman <[email protected]> Tue, Jun 10, 2014 at 2:22 PMReply-To: [email protected]: [email protected]
---
Patti Berman
President
DLANC
-------- Original Message --------
Subject:LA Times :: Sidewalk Vending: Health Safety IssuesDate:2014-04-08 10:00From:"Kent Smith" <[email protected]>To:"'Felipe Valladolid Chavez'" <[email protected]>Cc:<[email protected]>, "'patti.berman'" <[email protected]>, "'Blair Besten'"
<[email protected]>, "'Lynn Myers'" <[email protected]>
Felipe,
I am enclosing a link to today’s Los Angeles Times column by David Lazarus about CountyHealth’s inability to properly inspect mobile food vendors and the significant health hazard thathas created (see link below). Adding sidewalk vendors to the large and uncontrollable number ofmobile food vendors will only exasperate this significant health safety issue.
The City cannot rely on County Health to handle the food safety issues created by legalizingsidewalk food vendors.
I hope this issue is addressed in the CLA’s report to Council.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-lazarus-20140408,0,5536068,full.column#axzz2yJNLt0NN
Thanks
Kent Smith,
6/17/2014 Gmail - Fwd: LA Times :: Sidewalk Vending: Health Safety Issues
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Executive Director
LA Fashion District BID
110 E. 9th Street, Ste. A-1175
Los Angeles, CA 90079
213.488.1153 Ex. 712
6/17/2014 L.A. County food-truck safety program leaves a bad taste in the mouth - Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-lazarus-20140408-column.html#axzz2yJNLt0NN&page=1 1/5
L.A. County food-truck safety program leaves abad taste in the mouth
APRIL 7, 2014, 5:49 PM
David LazarusLOS ANGELES TIMES
L.A. County health inspectors often don’t know where specific food trucks and carts can be found, making surprise
inspections impossible. Such unannounced inspections are routine for restaurants. Above, food truck vendors in
Cerritos in 2011. (Lawrence K. Ho, Los Angeles Times)
If you've eaten from a food truck or cart in Los Angeles County, chew on this:
6/17/2014 L.A. County food-truck safety program leaves a bad taste in the mouth - Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-lazarus-20140408-column.html#axzz2yJNLt0NN&page=1 2/5
About 40% of the roughly 3,200 food trucks and carts cooking up meals in the area have never
been inspected in the field by health officials since letter grades were introduced three years ago.
And most of the remaining 60% have been checked out only once a year, even though official
guidelines call for at least two annual field inspections.
How do I know that? Because Angelo Bellomo, director of environmental health for the county
Department of Public Health, told me so. He oversees inspections of all eateries, including mobile
ones.
"This is an area that needs improvement," Bellomo acknowledged.
That's putting it mildly.
Bellomo and I discussed the sorry state of food-truck safety in L.A. after I presented him with
what happened to Shimi Cohen.
Cohen, 52, and her husband recently bought hot dogs from a cart at a West L.A. farmers market.
"We both ended up with stomach problems," she told me. "It wasn't pleasant."
The couple recovered by the next day, but Cohen was curious. How safe was this cart's food?
What was its track record for health inspections?
She contacted the Department of Public Health and made her way through the bureaucratic
kudzu to the agency's Vehicle Inspection Program.
Cohen provided the name of the hot dog cart, but that wasn't good enough. No record search
could be done without the cart's license plate number.
OK, that's just insane. Who would have a food cart's license plate number, especially a day later?
Cohen's clever husband, it turned out. He was able to find a photo of the license plate online.
So Cohen got back in touch with the Vehicle Inspection Program and learned that there's no
record of it ever having been inspected in the field since 2011.
Let's underline that. We're talking about a cart from which hot dogs that have been sitting in
warm water for hours are being sold to the public, and it hasn't been given a look-see by field
inspectors once in three years.
"I asked why this was," Cohen recalled, "and I was told that they just didn't have enough
inspectors."
6/17/2014 L.A. County food-truck safety program leaves a bad taste in the mouth - Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-lazarus-20140408-column.html#axzz2yJNLt0NN&page=1 3/5
I contacted the Vehicle Inspection Program and confirmed everything she'd been told. I'm not
naming the operator of the hot dog cart because, even though I have no reason to doubt her, I
can't verify that Cohen and her husband were sickened by their mobile meal.
What's more important is understanding how health inspectors failed to make at least six field
inspections of that hot dog cart over three years, as per county guidelines, and how this is much
more common than most people probably realize.
And then there's the enormous difficulty consumers can have trying to access safety info about the
3,200 food trucks and carts classified by the county as "moderate to high risk" because they
prepare and serve meals, as opposed to just selling packaged goods.
You can try going to the website of the Department of Public Health and clicking the link for
restaurant inspections. This will take you to a page where you can enter the name of the business
and then, from a drop-down menu for types of facilities, select "catering truck."
However, not all food trucks will come up in such searches. If they've been leased from other
companies, as is often the case, they can't be found under their nom de street. If you don't have
the name of the actual owner, you won't find it.
And if you're looking for a food cart, you can forget that altogether. The site offers no way to
search for so-called limited food preparation vehicles.
Your only other recourse is to send a fax or email to the agency's Public Health Investigation
Custodian of Records, which offers no guarantees that it can turn up any info.
Bellomo said county officials always knew there'd be some flies in the ointment, if not the chow,
after letter grades for food trucks were introduced in 2011.
One problem that's become clear, he said, is that the public can't readily look up information
about a truck or cart's safety record.
Another is that health inspectors often don't know where specific food trucks and carts can be
found, making surprise inspections impossible. Such unannounced inspections are routine for
restaurants.
Nearly all food trucks and carts do receive a separate certification inspection annually, Bellomo
said. But this is conducted at their storage sites and not while they're operating.
"The certification inspection gives us part of the picture," Bellomo said. "It tells us that the
equipment is functioning properly. What's not in the picture for many of these vehicles is what's
happening out in the field where they're preparing food and serving it to people."
6/17/2014 L.A. County food-truck safety program leaves a bad taste in the mouth - Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-lazarus-20140408-column.html#axzz2yJNLt0NN&page=1 4/5
Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times
The uninspected hot dog cart that reportedly sickened the Cohens, he said, isn't an isolated case.
"It's a good example of what we face," Bellomo said.
Add about 1,800 "low-risk" trucks serving packaged goods, such as ice cream, and health officials
have roughly 5,000 vehicles to keep track of. That's a tall order for the county's 15 field inspectors
and their two supervisors.
Bellomo said staffing isn't the main concern, though he could probably use a few more inspectors.
The biggest problem at the moment, he said, is knowing where food trucks and carts can be found
at any given time.
"We might have a list of 10 that are scheduled for inspection but only be able to find three,"
Bellomo said. "In many cases, we just don't know where they are."
Food trucks and carts that receive complaints from the public are generally a higher priority for
inspections, he said. Others are scheduled on a rotating basis.
While I can understand the challenge of tracking down mobile operations, it may not be as
difficult as officials think. For example, I found that the owner of the hot dog cart patronized by
the Cohens was regularly tweeting where it could be found.
I bet that many other food trucks and carts are similarly active on social media.
Equipping such vehicles with GPS systems would seem an obvious solution. Bellomo said officials
are considering this, "but we're still looking at the cost factor."
He also said he hopes the Department of Public Health's website will become more user-friendly
by next year, allowing consumers to easily search for — and find — safety information about all
vehicles.
In the meantime, keep this in mind: If you dine alfresco in L.A. County, you're taking your
chances.
Think of it as the culinary version of Russian roulette.
David Lazarus' column runs Tuesdays and Fridays. He also can be seen daily on KTLA-TV
Channel 5 and followed on Twitter @Davidlaz. Send your tips or feedback to
6/17/2014 L.A. County food-truck safety program leaves a bad taste in the mouth - Los Angeles Times
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1 | P a g e
Los Angeles Neighborhood Council Coalition A Coalition of Councils
General Meeting Agenda June 7, 2014 10:00 a.m.
Email us at: [email protected]
HOLLYWOOD CONSTITUENT CENTER
6501 FOUNTAIN AVE HOLLYWOOD
Chief Beck coming July meeting
Important Update on SOS LA announcement
Chair: Terrence Gomes Vice Chair: Fred Mariscal Secretary: Connie Acosta Treasurer: Glenn Bailey
Website: www.lancc.org
WEB-BLOG (Notices, etc.): lanccreports.blogspot.com Send emails (questions, comments, etc.): [email protected]
1. CALL TO ORDER: 10:00 AM by LANCC Chair, Terrence Gomes
2. CHAIR’S REPORT: Terrence Gomes
3. INTRODUCTIONS
4. AGENDA AND MINUTES: review and approval
5. PRESENTATIONS
a. Melanie Winter, Jessica Sanchez- Water LA helps homeowners reduce their water bills, manage rainwater onsite, and increase the value of their properties. The Water LA program was funded under a Prop 84 grant from the state Coastal Conservancy, with additional support from the LADWP and many non-profit partners
b. Commissioner Karen Mack, Commissioner Lydia Grant- BONC to discuss the POLICY NUMBER: 2014-2 Neighborhood Council members shall take training as determined by the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment (Department) including but not limited to sexual discrimination, “bullying”, other inappropriate behavior and ADA training.
2 | P a g e
6. LEGISLATIVE: a. Proposal to send letter to Mayor Garcetti to expand the Water LA program city-wide:
June 5, 2014 Mayor Eric Garcetti 200 N. Spring St. Room 300 Los Angeles, CA 90012 RE: Extending Water LA Program to all of Los Angeles Dear Mayor Garcetti The XXXX Neighborhood Council believes that water is of paramount importance to the City of Los Angeles. We support the Mayor’s goal of cutting imported supplies in half by 2025 and would like to be active participants but believe there may be a lack of consistent guidance, reliable incentives, resources and support. The Water LA program has been providing these tools to Panorama City and Studio City, and we request that your office do what it can to extend the Water LA program to other communities in Los Angeles. Very truly yours, XXXX Neighborhood Council
b. Proposal to permit street vendors to sell food and merchandise (Council File 13-1493) c. Proposal for Neighborhood Councils to submit community impact statement for CF 14-0600
The XXXX Neighborhood Council supports the 2014 Neighborhood Council Budget Advocates’ White Paper and the list of 14 real concerns that are identified, and recommendations provided for solutions to resolving those concerns to improve the City of Los Angeles moving forward.
7. REPORTS a. EmpowerLA- Grayce Liu
i) Funding Program ii) Elections iii) Opportunities
b. Budget Advocates- i) Budget updates
c. Board of Neighborhood Commissioners- Len Shaffer i) Update of BONC actions
d. DWP REPORT- Wilkinson or Humphreville e. ANNOUNCEMENTS AND SPEED ROUND f. ADJOURNMENT
Legalizing Sidewalk Food Vendors Proposed Street Vendor Ordinance CF 13-1493 LA City Councilmen Jose Huizar and Curren Price introduced a motion on November 6, 2013 that would legalize street food in the city. Called the Special Sidewalk Vending District Program, it will be heard by the Economic Development Committee on May 13, 2014 at 1 pm at City Hall Room 1010. What would this policy do? This policy would legalize the sale of food on sidewalks in the City of Los Angeles. It would create a permit system to regulate how vendors can sell food on sidewalks. The policy would also encourage healthy food vending by setting a lower permit fee for sale of nutritious items like fruits and vegetables. Who developed the policy? The policy was developed by the Street Food Work Group of the Los Angeles Food Policy Council, a coalition committed to good food for all in L.A. (www.goodfoodla.org). The working group brought together community-based organizations that work with sidewalk vendors; health and environmental advocates; gourmet and lunch truck operators; and staff from the City and County of Los Angeles. Will legal sidewalk vendors sell nutritious food? Sidewalk vendors, like restaurants, food trucks, and food stores, sell a wide range of snacks, meals, beverages, and groceries. Some sidewalk vendors sell whole or cut fruits; some sell tacos, hot dogs, or other meals; others sell fried snacks or ice-cream. The policy would legalize the sale of all types of foods that comply with current health codes while providing special incentives for vending of fruits, vegetables and healthy snacks and meals. Will food sold by legal sidewalk vendors be safe to eat? Sidewalk vendors have to comply with the State of California’s Retail Food Code, which sets health standards for businesses that sell food to the public. These regulations are enforced by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. They regulate what kind carts vendors may use; access to sinks, stoves, hot water, refrigeration and bathrooms; and how vending carts must be stored and cleaned when not in use. This policy would not change these rules. Would legalizing sidewalk vending cost the city money? Because vendors are operating outside the law, they do not pay for permits or pay sales taxes. Legalizing sidewalk vending would raise money from annual permit fees and from sales taxes. Would legal sidewalk vending harm brick-and-mortar businesses and take away jobs? Comparisons made between brick-and-mortar businesses and mobile vendors are often overstated. Street vendors generally sell smaller-ticket items, while stores, because of their high-fixed costs for rent, generally try to sell higher-priced items. With 13% of Angelinos out of a job, creating a permit system would help level the playing field, and increase local purchasing power along business corridors. Los Angeles Street Vendor Campaign wants to develop a system that permits food vending on Los Angeles sidewalks. The campaign is driven by a coalition of organizations from all across the city, who are passionate about creating jobs, bringing healthy food into low-income neighborhoods, and cultivating vibrant and safe streets. The campaign's end goal, is a Los Angeles ordinance that permits food vending. In general, the ordinance will:
• Permit food vending on sidewalks • Incentivize healthy food vending • Create partnerships with small businesses to cultivate vibrant commercials • Foster safer streets by putting more "eyes on the streets" • Create jobs for low-income, unemployed workers
The campaign's driving force is its partners. These organizations represent a cross-section of the city, and are committed to working towards a system that permits food vending on Los Angeles sidewalks:
• East LA Community Corporation • Leadership for Urban Renewal Network (LURN) • Community Financial Resource Center • Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles • Urban Education Policy Institute • Los Angeles Food Policy Council • Women Organizing Resources Knowledge and Services (WORKS) • California Black Women's Health Project • Asociacion de Loncheros • Public Counsel Law Center • The Public Immigrant Policies Institute of Los Angeles (PIPIL) • Esperanza Community Housing • Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE) • Youth Speak Collective • Kareem Carts • Proyecto Pastoral • Strategic Actions for a Just Economy (SAJE) • St. John's Well Child & Family Center • Little Tokyo Service Center • InnerCity Struggle • Labor Community Strategy Center • Bus Riders Union • Right to the City Alliance • Los Angeles Community Action Network (LA CAN) • Guerrilla Food Not Bombs • Corazon del Pueblo • Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance (KIWA) • SEE-LA • Little Tokyo Service Center • Restaurant Opportunities Center - Los Angeles (ROC-LA) • SEIU - United Services Workers West • LA2050 • Los Angeles Metropolitan Churches • Community Coalition • United Food Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 770 • Alliance for California's for Community Empowerment (ACCE) • Strategic Concepts in Organizing and Policy Education • A New Way of Life Reentry Project • Urban Semillas • Pacoima Beautiful • UNITE HERE Local 11
Our campaign is getting a lot of media attention. Street vending is an issue that resonates with a lot of Los Angeles residents. The following is a selection of media pieces:
KPFK: Street Vending Interview with Public Counsel and ELACC Intersections South LA: South LA Street Vendors Could Soon Go Legit La Opinion: Presionan Por Sus Permisos de Venta Univision: Vendedores Luchan Por Sus Negocios en LAhttps://www.blogger.com/
Canal Estrella: Vendedores Ambulantes Annenberg TV: Street Vendors Push New Law Annenberg Radio: LA Street Vendors Fight for Legalization Los Angeles Times Editorial Board: Legalize LA's Street Vendors KPCC: LA Officials to Review Street Vending: Push for Legalization Could Improve Economy... La Opinion: Proponen regular a vendedores ambulantes en Los Angeles LA Times: LA Council Members Push To End Street Vending Ban Fox LA News: Legalizing Street Vendors Daily News: LA to chew on legalizing street food vendors Daily News (Photos): Street Vendors Gather at City Hall ABC: Councilman seek to legalize Los Angeles street vending KCET: Los Angeles Street Vendors Find Support from City Council Annenberg TV News: Street Vendors Hope to Legalize Vending on City Sidewalks CBS: Councilmembers Call For Legalization, Regulation of Street Vending Operations New America Media: Film Project on LA Street Vendors Brings Community Into the Classroom KCET - Street Vendor Stories' at the Autry National Museum Wall Street Journal Editors' Picks: Street Vendors Neon Tommy: Will Bacon-Wrapped Hot Dogs And Other Street Food At Last Be Legalized in L.A.? KPFK: Anti-Hunger Activists Call for Decriminalization of Food Distribution http://blogs.kcrw.com/whichwayla/2012/11/photos-la-street-vendorsKCRW: Which Way LA? Photos of LA Street Vendors KPCC: "Los Angeles Street Vendors Cooking Up a Challenge to the Sidewalk Ban" NBC 4: "Street Vending Legalization Sought in LA" EGP News: "ELACC Strives to Legalize Food Vending in L.A." Univision 34: "Vendedores Ambulantes Piden Alto a la Persecucion" Univision 34: "Vendedores Ambulantes Piden Alto al Acosa de las Autoridades"
Annenberg News: "Activists Want to Legalize Sidewalk Street Vendors" Telemundo: "Vendedores Exigen Permisos" KPCC: "Immigrant Street Vendors in Los Angeles Want to Legalize Their Businesses" LA Opinion: "Ambulantes Piden Por Sus Derechos" The Front Page Online: "Street Vendors, Your Are Not Welcome"
