Massed Vendors Fail to Block Ban : Protest: Street salesmen jam Anaheim City Hall and surround it with trucks but councilmen refuse to rescind law barring them from neighborhoods.
ANAHEIM — Despite the protests of 100 street vendors who crowded into City Hall and who surrounded it with their trucks, the City Council on Tuesday refused to overturn an ordinance banning them from residential neighborhoods.
Councilman Bob D. Simpson, whom both vendors and their opponents have tried to sway throughout this dispute, told the vendors he would not change his vote in favor of the ordinance despite the vendors’ pleas that it would force them out of business.
On Aug. 25, Simpson joined Councilmen Tom Daly and Irv Pickler in voting to adopt the ordinance, which restricts vendors to commercial areas. Mayor Fred Hunter and Councilman William D. Ehrle voted against the ordinance.
Protesters carried signs opposing Daly’s council candidacy. He is running both as a candidate for council and for mayor. Hunter and Ehrle are also seeking return to office.
City code enforcement officials said Tuesday that they will begin enforcing the ban today by ticketing anyone found selling in a residential neighborhood. The city has 153 licensed vendors plus an unknown number who work without a license.
“I still believe there is a solution out their someplace, and I don’t want to put anybody out of work,†Simpson said. “But I don’t believe vendors should be allowed to sell in residential neighborhoods.â€
He said one solution would be for the vendors to move into some of the vacant stores throughout the city or onto some commercial lots abutting the neighborhoods where they currently sell.
But the vendors, who protested with 30 trucks on Anaheim Boulevard and 70 people inside City Hall, said they cannot accept any of those solutions and that they will continue to operate today in defiance of the ordinance. They will be risking fines of up to $500.
“We’ve got to work, so we will challenge the tickets in court,†vendor Pedro Vasquez said. “We couldn’t make it with any of the solutions that have been suggested. We are not rich people. We are just trying to make a living.â€
Superior Court Judge William F. McDonald refused Friday to issue an injunction against enforcement of the ban. Salvador Sarmiento, the vendors’ attorney, has said he will ask the state Court of Appeal today to issue an injunction against enforcement of the ban.
The council enacted the ban after a group of residents and business owners complained that the vendors, who sell a range of items including food, clothing, cigarettes and furniture, violated city laws by being too noisy, leaving behind litter and attracting crowds to quiet neighborhood streets.
Mike Kowalski, a spokesman for Neighborhoods Opposed to street Vending in Anaheim or NOVA, said the vendors can survive under the new ordinance.
“They are just being shortsighted,†Kowalski said. He said no vendor would have to move more than 200 yards from his or her current location in order to comply with the new ordinance.
“All they would have to do is market themselves, agree to be in certain locations at regular times and they’ll succeed,†he said.
In other council action Tuesday, it unanimously enacted a Police Department proposal to charge the hosts of unruly late-night parties--or their parents if the hosts are juveniles--up to $1,000 if officers have to respond more than once to complaints about noise. City regulations already prohibit noisy parties between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Police Chief Joseph Molloy said that during the summer his department received up to 700 complaints a month about unruly parties, but few required more than one trip.
“We don’t have to go back often, but maybe (the hosts) will comply even quicker if they know they can be charged if we come back,†Molloy said.
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