LOS ANGELES, CA, FEBRUARY 14, 2024 – The legal team and plaintiffs in Community Power Collective v. City of Los Angeles released the following joint statement today:
“We are committed to finding a fair and just resolution for sidewalk vendors in Los Angeles and ensuring that vendors are not subjected to harmful and unlawful vending restrictions and penalties. In pursuit of this goal, we have re-engaged in settlement discussions with the City of Los Angeles. To ensure these conversations receive the attention they deserve, and in mutual agreement with the City, our trial set for February 15, 2024, has been moved to Thursday, April 4, 2024.
“In December 2022, vendor plaintiffs Merlín Alvarado and Ruth Monroy, along with three community empowerment organizations – Community Power Collective, East LA Community Corporation & Inclusive Action for the City – filed a lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles, challenging a number of regulations in their Sidewalk Vending Ordinance. The lawsuit alleges that these regulations violate a 2018 state law – SB 946 – that legalized sidewalk vending statewide.
“On February 6, 2024, the City unanimously approved certain changes to the Sidewalk Vending Ordinance, resulting in the repeal of the ‘no-vending’ zones which prohibited vending in seven of the most popular pedestrian areas of the City, including the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The City acknowledged in recent court filings that this move was meant to ‘address the core issues that prompted the [lawsuit.].’
“However, there remain critical issues that the City has failed to address, including hundreds of outstanding citations for operating in the now-repealed ‘no-vending’ zones as well as overbroad and unjustified distancing requirements from swap meets, farmers markets, and schools. Vendors and vendor advocates were ready to appear in Court this week to vindicate their rights and ensure the City is fully compliant with state law. Now, the parties to the lawsuit will spend the next seven weeks trying to reach a resolution that addresses the full scope of the issues raised in the lawsuit and sets the City on a better path to fully include the vending community in the local economy.
“We appreciate your understanding and support as we proceed with these critical negotiations for the rights and fair treatment of our street vendor community. Due to the confidential nature of these settlement discussions, we are unable to share further details at this time.
“If a satisfactory resolution between the parties cannot be reached, the sidewalk vendors, vendor advocates, and their counsel will be returning to Court on April 4th to ask a judge to order the City to fully comply with state law and to make vendors whole.
“We are confident that this lawsuit will result in the restoration of vendor rights in the City of Los Angeles and will serve as a signal to other jurisdictions that they cannot arbitrarily exclude vendors from their local economy.”
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Public Counsel: Public Counsel is a nonprofit public interest law firm dedicated to advancing civil rights and racial and economic justice, as well as to amplifying the power of our clients through comprehensive legal advocacy. Founded on and strengthened by a pro bono legal service model, our staff and volunteers seek justice through direct legal services, promote healthy and resilient communities through education and outreach, and support community-led efforts to transform unjust systems through litigation and policy advocacy in and beyond Los Angeles.
Western Center on Law & Poverty: Fights in courts, cities, counties, and in the Capitol to secure housing, health care, and a strong safety net for Californians with low incomes, through the lens of economic and racial justice. For more information, visit www.wclp.org.
Arnold & Porter: With nearly 1,000 lawyers and 14 offices in the U.S., Europe and Asia, Arnold & Porter’s lawyers practice in more than 40 practice groups across the litigation, regulatory and transactional spectrum to help clients with complex needs stay ahead of the challenges they face.
Community Power Collective: Community Power Collective builds power with low-income workers and tenants through transformative organizing to win economic justice, community control of land and housing, and to propagate systems of cooperation in Boyle Heights and the greater LA region.
East LA Community Corporation: ELACC is a Boyle Heights-based community development corporation that uses an equitable development model to engage residents traditionally left out of decision-making processes. In addition to affordable housing, they provide financial capability services through their Community Wealth department, which supports sidewalk vendors with free tax preparation, financial coaching, Technical Assistance, and social loans. ELACC is co-founder of the Los Angeles Street Vendor Campaign (LASVC) and has worked with micro-entrepreneurs for over a decade.
Inclusive Action for the City: Inclusive Action for the City (IAC) is a Community Development Financial Institution and nonprofit organization based in Los Angeles whose mission is to bring people together to build strong local economies that uplift low-income urban communities through advocacy and transformative economic development initiatives. IAC serves the community through policy advocacy, research, consulting services, business coaching, and a lending program, among other efforts. IAC is a co-founder of the Los Angeles Street Vendor Campaign and has worked with street vendors and other small business owners for more than 10 years.
