Downey delays decision on subsidizing street vendors

Most street vendors in Downey are operating without required permits. (Photo by Adam Kuban)

DOWNEY – Tuesday’s City Council meeting provided some ideas but no answers on how the city plans to encourage street vendors to apply for legal permits.

Unpermitted street vendors have been seen at Downey parks and along its city borders. While street vending was decriminalized in California in 2019, Downey does require vendors to acquire a permit, which cost $63 annually.

Still, permit applications have remained almost nonexistent. According to the city’s public work’s staff, there has only been one street vending application received and awarded since 2019.

Meanwhile, enforcement has been focused on ceasing illegal activities and education of vendors on the approval process.

Last month, Mayor Pro Tem Catherine Alvarez proposed waiving the initial permit fees associated with the sidewalk vending program to aid vendors who may struggle with paying and encourage them to apply.

As council members would find out, there are actually several steps a vendor needs to take in addition to receiving a permit from the city, including obtaining a California seller’s permit, a Los Angeles County health permit, a Downey business license, and a background check, each with their own associated costs.

Councilman Mario Trujillo offered a suggestion of a $1,000 allocation for 10 vendors ($100 per vendor) but cast doubt that it would be utilized.

“It’s a very difficult process, as much as California wants to make it easy, because we’re dealing with food, and we don’t want our residents to get sick,” said Trujillo. “Half of those vendors are probably not going to pass.

“It’s rigorous – as it should be – because the health of our residents is on the line.”

Council members also voiced several other concerns in addition to safety, including aesthetics of the city, and vendors who set up outside established brick and mortar stores and schools.

Alvarez said “We cannot not see what is going on in front of us.”

“I heard that it was difficult to get a permit from the city of Downey; this is where I’m coming from,” said Alvarez. “We need to help because they’re still here. They’re here; they’re not going to go nowhere.”

City staff will return to the city council at a later meeting with more information before an official decision on how to proceed is made.