Council Approves Ordinance Banning Sales From Parking Spaces

At Wednesday morning’s Lubbock City Council meeting, the council gave final approval in changing an existing ordinance to ban the sale of food and other goods from parking spaces without a specific permit.

The Council approved the the ordinance, which requires that anyone who wishes to sell food or items from a parking spot must apply for a street use license, which allows the holder to use one particular area to sell their goods.

The ordinance formerly addressed selling items “upon any sidewalk, sidewalk area, or parkway in the city without a street use license,” without clearly addressing sales from public streets and public parking spaces.

District 1 Councilman Victor Hernandez discussed the issue, saying “Street vendors, in my mind, have a place in a city… to me, it’s important that we have in place something by which a different kind of vendor can go ahead and continue on with their business in a safe manner, and a legitimate manner.”

The city attorney’s office and Dave Booher, the City’s right-of-way agent will have to create a vendor application for this particular type of street-use license. That application will have to be considered by the Council at their next meeting on January 12^th.

The second reading of the ordinance passed 6 to 1, District 3 Councilman Todd Klein dissenting.