Rec and Parks Commission Tables Boardwalk Ordinance with 2-2 Vote

A new ordinance regulating vending on the boardwalk is still making its way through city government, after the Los Angeles Recreation and Parks Commission failed to approve it during a meeting Wednesday morning.

The ordinance, which had been presented at a Venice Neighborhood Council meeting in July, would limit sales on the boardwalk to items that fall under the nominal utility standard—which means anything sold would need to be purchased for its free speech value, not its usefulness. Music will also be permitted.

The commission voted 2-2 on whether to approve the ordinance. The panel will likely reconsider it Oct. 5. It will then have to go through the City Council's Arts, Parks and Neighborhood Commission, chaired by Councilman Paul Krekorian, before being considered by the full council.

At the VNC meeting in July, VNC board President Linda Lucks had told the crowd that Councilman Bill Rosendahl "wanted to expedite" the ordinance, and was hoping to have it go before the City Council on Aug. 18. But the Recreation and Parks Commission board vote Wednesday means yet another delay.

The city has been working to regulate the boardwalk vendors again since parts of a 2008 ordinance covering the boardwalk, which included a permitting and lottery system, was overturned by a U.S. District Court judge last fall. Since then, police have not enforced any of the restrictions that would keep the boardwalk from becoming what some call a "swap meet."

There has also been a return of disputes over space that the lottery system was intended to stymie, local police say. LAPD Pacific Division Sgt. Mark Reina said officers field calls "daily" over issues with boardwalk vendors.

A full-text version of the proposed ordinance can be found here.

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