Al fresco on wheels: LA County works with LA city to obtain code-compliant street vendor carts

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors agreed Tuesday to accept $1.67 million in federal funds from the city of Los Angeles to support the manufacture and distribution of code-compliant vending carts to support local street vendors.

The county had previously approved an allocation of $2.5 million of its own American Rescue Plan Act funding to procure carts that comply with the county’s newly enacted sidewalk vending ordinance.

The city enacted a vending program of its own and has been working to support vendors, including working with the county Department of Economic Opportunity to purchase and distribute vending carts to eligible vendors.

“In recognition of the economic benefits sidewalk vending provides to immigrant and low-income communities and the overall health of our local economy, and because the boundaries lines between the city of Los Angeles and the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County are often blurred for most vendors, it is a benefit to the county to collaboratively partner with the city in its procurement and distribution of sidewalk vending carts,” according to a motion by Supervisors Hilda Solis and Holly Mitchell.

The board approved the motion, which allows the county to accept the federal dollars from the city and sign an agreement with the city for the manufacture and distribution of the carts.

The county’s Sidewalk Vending Ordinance was approved in February and took effect in early August.

Under the county ordinance, vendors must obtain a health permit, which requires an initial fee, ranging from $508 for a low-risk operation selling pre-packaged food to $1,186 for higher-risk vendors who prepare and sell hot food, such as a taco stand or hot dog cart. Vendors then have to pay ongoing annual fees ranging from $226 to $1,000, depending on the type of vending.

A subsidy program was also adopted to cover about 75% of the health permit costs for vendors who meet certain qualifications, including annual revenue of less than $50,000.

A separate county ordinance also imposes regulations for vendors in unincorporated areas, including restrictions on where and when they can operate and requirements for distance between vendors.

Under that ordinance, vendors must register with the county and pay a registration fee of $604. That fee, however, will be largely subsidized by the county Department of Economic Opportunity, which will cover the full cost of the permit in the first year, then reduce it to $100 in subsequent years.