Hollywood Chamber Successfully Champions a Carve-Out for Walk of Fame from City’s Vending Ordinance

January 15, 2019
Posted in News
January 15, 2019 Hollywood Chamber of Commerce

Hollywood Chamber Successfully Champions a Carve-Out for Walk of Fame from City’s Vending Ordinance

Another win for the Hollywood Chamber! The Los Angeles City Council adopted a formal permit process to legalize sidewalk vending throughout the City, which included an exemption of vending within 500 feet of the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

“We are elated that in the final ordinance adopted today, Council has included a no vending zone which will prohibit vending on or near the Walk of Fame,” stated Leron Gubler, former President & CEO of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.

The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce has been actively working with City officials for the past five years to ensure that adequate protections for the Hollywood Walk of Fame were included in the sidewalk vending ordinance, in order to avoid any potential damage to this State historic landmark. Complicating the City’s efforts, a new state law, SB 946, went into effect on January 1, 2019, and completely legalizes vending throughout the state. The State law does not include any protections for State Historic Monuments, like the Walk of Fame. Additionally, the newly passed state legislation limits where cities can ban street vendors from operating unless there is a health, safety, or welfare concern.

The City will begin rolling out its permit system throughout 2019, but enforcement will not begin until 2020. The already lengthy delay in the City’s adoption of a vending ordinance, compounded with its action to decriminalize vending activity, has led to a free-for-all on Hollywood Blvd. With no enforcement in place, the sidewalk has become so congested that tourists are regularly seen walking in the streets to get around the blockage, creating a hazardous situation and a potentially huge liability issue for the City. Additionally, many vendors are placing tables, chairs, cooking grills, merchandise, and other equipment directly on top of the Stars, obscuring visitors’ view of our iconic landmark.

The Hollywood Chamber looks forward to working with the City Council as it moves forward with its permit process, to ensure that robust funding for enforcement is also provided to help guarantee a successful Citywide vending program that benefits all Angelinos, while simultaneously ensuring protection of historic and cultural resources like the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

 

About the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce:

For more than 98 years, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce has provided leadership, business development resources, networking, and government affairs programs and services to keep the Hollywood business and residential communities safe, relevant and economically vital. Donelle Dadigan is the Chair of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors 2018-19, and Rana Ghadban is the President/CEO of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. For more information please visit www.hollywoodchamber.net.

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