Council Approves First Reading of Street Use Ordinance Change

At Thursday morning’s Lubbock City Council meeting, the council took the first steps in amending an already existing ordinance regarding the sales of food and other goods from parking spaces and other areas not located in a building.

Currently, people are allowed to sell items such as food in certain areas of the city on specific portions of sidewalks. Those that do this generally apply for a street use license from the city secretary’s office, allowing the license holder to use one particular area to sell their goods.

One case in particular has caused the City to take notice and help increase enforcement against those who forgo the permit process and sell their goods along the public sidewalk, but not actually on it.

According to Code Administration Manager Stuart Walker, a person with a mobile food unit would sell out of a space in a parking lot in the 2400 block of Broadway Avenue without any sort of permit.  

The current ordinance only addresses selling items “upon any sidewalk, sidewalk area or parkway in the city without a street use license.” It does not clearly state that vendors are not allowed to display and sell their wares from public streets or parking spaces along public streets.

The ordinance change considered by the Council contains language which makes the boundaries more clear about selling items, making it “unlawful to display or sell merchandise from the right-of-way, street, and street parking space without a street use license.”

Some questions were asked by Council members about how the ordinance revision might affect certain events, particularly ones such as the Hub City BBQ, sponsored annually by the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce. Special events such as these are covered under another permit specifically designed for recreational street use, so the new language will not affect similar large community gatherings.

The Council unanimously approved the first reading of the Ordinance. The approval will be complete following a second reading of the change at their next meeting.