Some West Hollywood business owners have recently been raising alarms about swarms of WeHo sidewalk vendors on Santa Monica Boulevard, especially around the Rainbow District. WEHOonline recently reported on “The Enforcer” returning around hot dog vendors, and on pop-up “street bars” operating outside licensed venues. Now a similar dispute in Los Angeles has turned into a major lawsuit alleging, among other things, millions of dollars in damages due to trash, blocked foot traffic, and lost revenue.
The LACC Swap Meet lawsuit was first reported by LAist. The owners of the Los Angeles City College Swap Meet are suing the City of LA for allegedly interfering with business and contractual relations. They are seeking more than $30 million in damages.
The complaint also targets Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez. The lawsuit claims his office blocked sidewalk vending enforcement and other requests for help from swap meet management, as well as accusations of a “personal vendetta.”
The swap meet has operated in LACC’s parking lot for nearly 30 years. The lawsuit describes the conflict as a pandemic-era shift that never fully reversed. Vendors moved to the sidewalk when the swap meet shut down during COVID-19, and the lawsuit claims many stayed outside even after the swap meet reopened.
LAist reports the lawsuit claims swap meet co-owner Phillip Dane called LAPD multiple times to respond to problems tied to the vendors, but says the requests were blocked. The lawsuit also claims his applications for temporary parking restrictions were denied.
The complaint says the situation shouldn’t have gotten this far because city law prohibits sidewalk vending near swap meets. Dane told LAist the sidewalk vending has spread beyond the immediate area, with vendors on Marathon and Monroe streets and along Madison and Vermont avenues.
The lawsuit also alleges Soto-Martinez has a “personal vendetta” against Dane and is trying to get him removed from managing the swap meet.
Soto-Martinez didn’t address the specific claims, but says he’s looking for a fix that works for both vendors and the swap meet. He says he’s the son of street vendors, and that he wants a system that works for everyone. A spokesperson told LAist their office didn’t know about the lawsuit. As of now, no court dates have been set.
West Hollywood Business Owners Are Watching
Once rules feel optional, it stops being a “quality of life” complaint and turns into a business problem. That’s the argument at the center of the LACC case. It’s also what many West Hollywood business owners have been telling WEHOonline as unlicensed vending spreads along Santa Monica Boulevard, and as unpermitted pop-ups operate right outside permitted, inspected bars and restaurants.
“Solutions” in West Hollywood have been hard to come by. We saw Councilmember Danny Hang yank his “Hot Dog” bill after it faced resistance, despite clear evidence of safety hazards like exploding propane tanks and greasy, slippery sidewalks that have become a regular occurrence.
Whether it’s the LACC parking lot or Santa Monica Boulevard, the message from the streets is the same: when politicians prioritize political optics over basic code enforcement, the tax-paying, rule following businesses are the ones who pay the price.
You can read the full complaint here.
Peddlers on public streets seems like a bad idea. Isn’t there a parking lots they could rent? Who started and who encouraged this?
We have a code for a reason. Enforce the code. Hard stop.
A lot of Street vending is organized. These aren’t mom and pops. I watch the fruit vendors get resupplied. They have services that restock them and transport their carts. It’s a full-on business without the taxes or the regulation. Then, on top of that we don’t know if there’s any kind of exploitation of the workers of these carts. I know that there’s a lot of Labor racketeering and nobody cares.
Of course there’s exploitation of workers.
L.A. city council refuses to allow the police to enforce public safety laws like the ban on the breast cancer causing gas powered leaf blowers . They have been illegal for 27 years because of the countless health hazards and environmental hazards they dump on us 12 hours a day, seven days a week. When you call L.A. City Council to complain about the lack of enforcement, they blame it on budget cuts to the LAPD. When you tell them THEY are the ones who cut the budget, they get mad and hang up on you. It’s a total racket.… Read more »
No one says anything about all these Lawns being ripped up and being replaced with artificial turf which leeches microplastics into the aquifer that we will eventually drink from. There’s a lot of unfair things in our society but we’re too busy talking about Trump or the boogeyman to really fix things. The two-party system is going to be the ruin of this country. There’s no compromise or real intelligence left. We suffer from a progressive disease.
We no more need plastic lawns than we need grass lawns. We are a desert. People should plant accordingly. And the gas powered leaf blowers also disrupt top soil, and disturb and often kill bees. And disrupt wild life.
You might be speaking the wrong language and that’s why you’re not getting through to them.
Probably.
Why punch down? why not decry the huge rents, why don’t you complain about corporate landlords that are destroying brick and mortars chance at survival? or billionaires like amazon that have destroyed brick and mortar businesses? they don’t pay taxes, they use unfair business practices, and they pollute. be brave! punch up at the real problems!
Soto-Martinez is just a pawn of the Pol Pot of Los Angeles, Kurt Petersen of Unite Here. They’ll stop at nothing to raise minimum wage in order to fund their own lifestyles with union dues.
Don’t forget DSA Nithya Raman, Eunicess Hernandez, Jurado, and others. The roads are crumbling. The city’s debt is through the roof. LA City Council Members make $244,000 a year. The SEIU has way too much power. Categorically too much power. It is political corruption. One party state. Nothing will ever get done. People rather support drug traffickers and ethno fascist regimes than to embrace democracy and true progress.
The difference between order and disorder. Soto is an elitist with low standards.
Don’t forget racist. He’s working for his people, not all people. That’s why he proposes High minimum wages for Industries that are not ethnically diverse.