Venice Stakeholders
Association
May 1, 2015
Councilman
Curren Price, Chair,
and
Members, Economic Development Committee
Los
Angeles City Council
City
Hall
200
N. Spring Street
Los
Angeles, CA 90012
Re: Street Vending CF#13-1493
Dear
Councilman Price and Members of the Committee:
I
am writing to indicate the opposition of our organization to the proposal to
legalize street vending on the City’s sidewalks and in its parks.
Venice
residents already face extreme challenges from vending in the Venice Beach
Recreation Area and from the complete occupation at many places in Venice of
its sidewalks by transients.
Vendor
wares are continuously strewn about and/or stored in the Venice Beach
Recreation Area (our beach park) and in the adjoining commercial and
residential areas.
Farther
inland, sidewalks along entire blocks are at times impassable to pedestrians,
even though these blockages violate the American with Disabilities Act.
The
lack of current enforcement by the LAPD and parks officials of existing ordinances
has significantly degraded the quality of life of nearby Venice residents to
the extent that our organization and several individual plaintiffs are
currently suing the City of Los Angeles and County of Los Angeles for
maintaining a dangerous public nuisance along the Venice Beach Recreation
Area. The noxious behavior of so-called
“artist” vendors represents one aspect of this nuisance. Based on the past
inability the LAPD and City Attorney’s staff to enforce regulations governing
these existing “artist” vendors and the frequent practice of these vendors to
sell drugs under the guise of their artistic offerings, we are very concerned
that the city will not be able to adequately enforce and regulate street
vending if it is legalized.
The Venice Stakeholders Association is dedicated to civic
improvement. The VSA supports slow
growth, protection of the limits of the Venice Specific Plan, neighborhood
safety, better traffic circulation, increased parking for residents,
neighborhood beautification projects, historic preservation, habitat
restoration and protection of coastal waters.
www.venicestakeholdersassociation.org/310-392-4843
We
join with other neighborhood groups that have opposed legalization of street
vending due to a host of problems associated with the proposal:
- Overlapping
regulatory responsibility and gaps in enforcement between departments
- Increase in trash
and food waste and offensive odors
- Lack of any limits
on locations and/or zones where permitted
- Lack of City resources/staff
for enforcement of permit compliance
- Obstruction of
public right-of-way and loss of scarce sidewalk space for pedestrian and
handicap use.
- Potential for ADA
violations
- Lack of hot water
for food vendors for hand washing
- Unfair competition
with brick and mortar stores
We
would propose that any proposal to legalize street vending include affirmative
opt-in language; i.e., all Los Angeles communities would be automatically excluded
from the ordinance until a community affirmatively opted in. The opt-in would be at the block level, not
the neighborhood council level; i.e., the property owners on any block proposed
for street vending or the property owners adjacent to any park proposed for
vending would have to indicate approval by 2/3rds signatures upon City
petitions for opt-in to occur.
I
would ask that this letter be placed on Council File #13-1493
Thank you for your consideration of our views on this
matter.
Sincerely,
Mark Ryavec
Mark Ryavec
Mark Ryavec, President
cc: Mayor Eric
Garcetti, Councilman Paul Krekorian, Councilman Jose Huizar, Councilman Gilbert
Cedillo, Councilwoman Nury Martinez and Councilman Mike Bonin
