Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has directed the LAPD to immediately stop issuing criminal citations to street vendors and to dismiss tickets already handed out in error, after officers were found to be using the city's anti-camping ordinance to penalize vendors selling food and goods near MacArthur Park. LAPD acknowledged that officers erroneously issued the criminal citations to vendors in the area, treating their carts, grills and coolers as unauthorized property under a law meant to regulate homeless encampments rather than commercial sidewalk vending.
According to KTLA, police have sometimes used the anti-camping ordinance to cite vendors around MacArthur Park, a practice first detailed in a New York Times report. Sidewalk vending has been decriminalized under California law since a 2018 measure, meaning cities are barred from bringing misdemeanor charges against vendors and can only issue administrative civil fines. Bass's office said the mayor stands firmly with street vendors, and she is now working to remove charges stemming from the erroneous citations so vendors are not left with criminal records.
The mayor's office also asked LAPD to determine whether similar citations were issued to vendors in other parts of the city, not just around MacArthur Park. Street vendors remain subject to local regulations and permitting requirements even as the criminal citations are halted, according to the same report.
A Park Already Under Heightened Police Presence
MacArthur Park has been a particular flashpoint for vendor enforcement since LAPD surged patrols and installed security fencing there following a January 2025 shooting on Alvarado Street, a buildup that displaced dozens of vendors who had been working the park's perimeter, according to L.A. TACO. Those displaced vendors previously organized tarps and protests asking Bass to remove the barriers around the park. The stepped-up enforcement set the stage for the kind of friction between officers and vendors that produced the anti-camping citations now under scrutiny.
Street vending is, as KTLA's report frames it, a quintessential part of Los Angeles' world-class food scene and a livelihood for thousands of Angelenos. Regional estimates from the advocacy group Inclusive Action for the City put the number of sidewalk vendors and home cooks operating across Los Angeles County at roughly 50,000, according to LAist, with a significant portion of that workforce made up of women, immigrants and elderly residents.
Vending Fights Have Landed in Court Before
This isn't the first time Los Angeles has had to walk back vending restrictions after legal pushback. In July 2024 the city finalized a settlement with street vendors and advocacy groups, brought by organizations including Community Power Collective and Inclusive Action for the City, that repealed no-vending zones near sites like the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Dodger Stadium while canceling past citations and refunding fines, according to Public Counsel. That same year, the city's annual vending permit fee dropped from $541 to $27.51, a reduction Raman supported.
Vending Becomes a Flashpoint in the Mayor's Race
The citation controversy has landed squarely inside the November runoff between Bass and City Councilmember Nithya Raman, with street vending emerging as a real point of contention between the two candidates. At an August mayoral debate hosted by the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association, Bass said food vendors should not operate directly in front of brick-and-mortar restaurants or schools and compared some vending setups to encampments, remarks that drew criticism from both Raman and vendor advocates.
Raman responded by unveiling her own street vending policy proposal, which calls for designated vending zones equipped with shared sinks, electricity, lighting, shade and restrooms. Her plan also includes an immigrant economic opportunity hub that would offer permitting assistance, microloans and legal help to vendors. Bass spokesperson Paige Sterling said the mayor and her team will continue meeting with street vendors to implement policies and programs based on their needs.
City and County Have Poured Money Into Legal Vending
The citation controversy comes even as the city and county have invested heavily in helping vendors operate legally. In January, the Los Angeles County Department of Economic Opportunity partnered with the city to launch a $2.8 million Sidewalk Vending Cart Program distributing more than 280 free, health-code-compliant food carts to low-income vendors, an effort Hoodline covered earlier this year. In July, county officials added another $250,000 to that program to help micro-vendors cover ongoing health permit fees, a boost announced by Board Chair Hilda Solis.
State lawmakers have also moved to shore up protections for vendors beyond the 2018 decriminalization law. Senate Bill 972 established Compact Mobile Food Operations in 2023 to help sidewalk food vendors obtain public health permits without needing full commercial food trucks, according to Serviam Law. Governor Gavin Newsom followed that in October 2025 by signing Senate Bill 635, the Street Vendor Business Protection Act, which limits how local enforcement authorities can collect, store and share vendor identification data in an effort to build trust between immigrant vendors and local regulators.
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