Long Beach is one step closer to new rules for street vendors, but some believe it comes at a high price. Mekahlo Medina reports for the NBC4 News on Jan. 17, 2024.
Long Beach is one step closer to new rules for street vendors that will make it expensive for vendors to start operating and some vendors worry it could price them out.
Vendors say they make just a few hundred dollars a week, and the new rules will price the entry into street vending at about $1,500 or more to get started.
The city says it will help with those initial costs, but some vendors say it is too high.
Jeffrey Quinata sells blankets near Junipero Beach, he says the new costs are too high for vendors.
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“I think a lot of vendors are gonna stop selling if they can’t afford it,” Quinata said.
He’s been vocal in getting street vending fairly implemented, but he says the new fees the city is imposing on vendors for business licenses, check fees, insurance and health permit costs could peak at just under $2,000 depending on what they’re selling.
Even with the city paying $1,500 of that, vendors are still on the hook for hundreds of dollars that supporters say could break the bank.
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City councilor Mary Zendejas is pleading with vendors who fear the costs might be too high to seek help they city is offering.
Some $250,000 dollars to help pay for the initial costs to get about 160 vendors started.
Once those initial fees are paid, vendors are still on the hook for annual insurance, which could run hundreds of dollars each year.
“For you, $300 may not be a lot, but for someone making $20,000 a year that’s a ridiculous amount of money,” Gaby Hernandez, executive director of ÓRALE.
If a vendor gets a license and permit, they also have to follow the new rules about where they can operate.
There are buffer zones around being too close to light poles, intersections, driveways, schools and businesses that have lease agreements with the city like beach concession stands, the Convention Center and Pike Outlets.
Areas around the beach are on hold until the California Coastal Commission approves this plan.
Once the council has a procedural vote next week, it goes to the mayor’s desk to be signed. The city will give about six months before they begin enforcing the ordinance.
