In the protracted, years-long effort to legalize street vending in Los Angeles, Mayor Eric Garcetti and City Council members have often praised sidewalk selling as the first rung on the entrepreneurial ladder and vendors as hardworking Angelenos just trying to make an honest living. If city leaders are serious about creating opportunities for street vendors to ply their trade legitimately, they have to create reasonable rules, not overly burdensome ones. The problems with the proposal to legalize and regulate street vending start with the provision that would let property owners prohibit selling on the sidewalk fronting their land or building. Doing so would invite extortion, as property owners could demand “rent” from vendors for their permission to sell on the sidewalk. The proposal does lay out citywide standards for vending, but they include a comically long list of restrictions on where vendors can set up.

Source: Los Angeles Times November 25, 2017 12:00 UTC