As part of a move to support street vendors, the Los Angeles City Council voted Friday to significantly reduce the price of annual permits for street vendors.
The new ordinance would reduce the annual cost of a street vendor permit from $541 to $27.51, and city council members agreed the new fee structure would be more realistic and affordable.
This comes after elected officials continued to provide more support to vendors, most recently repealing so-called “no-street vending zones” in February.
The city decriminalized sidewalk vending and began establishing a permit system in 2017. Permit fees were set at $291 from 2019 through 2022 but have remained unchanged due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
For the 2022-23 fiscal year, staff proposed raising the fee to $541, but elected officials put the tax on street vendors on hold.
“The city estimated there would be 50,000 businesses in the city and expected to issue 16,000 permits per year,” said Los Angeles City Council Member Nithya Raman, “but the reality on the ground has been quite different.”
Only 900 permits were issued annually, and many street vendors chose to operate without one.
On February 6, the City Council amended the city’s street vending law, eliminating seven areas where street vending was banned: the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Hollywood Bowl, Dodger Stadium, LA Live/Crypto.com Arena, Universal Studios/CityWalk, El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Memorial, and Exposition Park.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors took similar action, giving final approval to two ordinances regulating sidewalk food vendors and also introducing a grant program to offset some of the costs associated with the permitting process.
In 2022, Governor Gavin Newsom passed SB 972, a bill that allows street vending throughout California.
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