Late night food carts may soon have fewer places to park after a city committee unanimously voted to approve a compromise between vendors and restaurant owners at a meeting Wednesday.
The Vending Oversight Committee gave final approval to a city ordinance amendment that would eliminate several parking spaces in front of the restaurants Asian Kitchen and Pita Pit on the 400 block of Broom Street. The compromise was designed to reduce tensions between the owners of the restaurants and the food cart vendors after restaurants complained that vendors parked in front of the establishments were harming their late-night business.
The compromise was temporarily approved at their previous meeting in March, but could not be officially approved until the map detailing exactly where vendors could park was finalized.
Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said the amendment changed the perimeter of late-night vending on Broom Street to eliminate the parking spaces in front of businesses on the west side of the street, including Asian Kitchen and Pita Pit. The perimeter still allows vendors to park on the east side of the street, as well as in the loading zone of Riley’s Wines of the World, he said.
The remaining 10 parking spaces will be on a first-come, first-served basis, according to Verveer.
Steve Lawrence, owner of Fried and Fabulous, sets up his food cart in the affected perimeter. He said while the amendment was not perfect, he is satisfied with the outcome of the meeting.
“I think this is a balanced approach that directly responds to the complaints brought up by restaurants while allowing food carts to remain in business,” Lawrence said. “My one drawing line in the sand has always been that food carts go out of business is not a compromise.”
While he hopes the conflict is over, Lawrence said he is concerned that future complaints might lead to further discussion about late-night vending on Broom Street. He cited concerns with the processes of the committee and said if the issue is brought up again, it might not work out in his favor.
Lawrence said he was typically the only vendor who spoke at the committee meetings, compared to the restaurant owners, landlords and city officials. The process ultimately came down to whomever spoke out the most got the attention, rather than looking at the quality of what was being said, he said.
While the compromise took the committee a long time to reach, Verveer said it was a long time coming.
“Hopefully these late night vending issues are behind us, at least for this season,” Verveer said.
The committee also unanimously approved another amendment to make the closing times for sidewalk cafes with alcohol licenses consistent throughout the city.
The amendment requires establishments with a sidewalk caf? to stop serving alcohol and clear all alcohol off outdoor tables by 1 a.m., according to Verveer. The previous ordinance allowed different parts of the city to have different end times for alcohol sale, he said.
Verveer said the committee has discussed issues with sidewalk caf?s many times, but this was the first time the amendment was up for a vote.
Both amendments will face final approval from City Council at its April 30 meeting.
