The Civil Rights, Equity, Immigration, Aging and Disability Committee voted unanimously in favor of the motion, including a small change. Councilmembers are calling for a report documenting the process to engage stakeholders and efforts to develop this street vending pilot program.Council members Hugo Soto-Martnez, Paul Krekorian, Curren Price and Nithya Raman co-presented the motion on Oct. 20. Soto-Martnez and Raman's districts, 13 and 4, respectively, include portions of Hollywood.
The city's Sidewalk Vending Ordinance excludes vendors from nine areas representing some of its most popular pedestrian areas, such as the Hollywood Walk of Fame and LA Live. "I think what's very clear is that all of us want street vending, but how it look like might have differences in opinions,'' Soto-Martnez said. "That's something that folks should be very mindful of.''
Councilwoman Eunisses Hernandez, who supported the motion, said she didn't fully understand how this motion would address the "clear violations of state law that the city of L.A. is upholding.'' Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez recognized this would not be a "simple conversation'' because it's a challenging issue that will require cooperation from all sides.
However, in the statement, it was expressed that the motion failed to fully address the harms done to street vendors over the course of the last five years.