Draft Ordinance for Boardwalk Vending Would Prohibit Sale of Jewelry, Other Handmade Crafts

The debate over selling merchandise on the boardwalk continued Thursday night at an extra meeting of the Venice Neighborhood Council.

Under direction from the City Council, the City Attorney's office has drafted an ordinance to replace the permitting and lottery system from 2008 that was overturned by a U.S. District Court judge in October.

The new ordinance would do away with restrictions on amplified music (although other noise ordinances would still be enforceable), and limit sales on the boardwalk to items that fall under the nominal utility standard—that is, items sold on the boardwalk, such as "books, audio, video, or other recordings of their performances, paintings, photographs, prints, sculptures or any other item" would need to be purchased for their free speech value, not their usefulness.

According to the draft ordinance, items that cannot be sold on the boardwalk would "include but are not limited to, the following: housewares, appliances, articles of clothing, sunglasses, auto parts, oils, incense, perfume, crystals, lotions, candles, jewelry, toys and stuffed animals."

Members of the Venice Neighborhood Council as well as members of the public voiced their concerns Thursday night that handmade items would not be allowed to be sold.

Boardwalk artist and jewelry maker Jason Kaufman said the draft ordinance would be "throwing the baby out with the bathwater."

"People do come to Venice Beach specifically for the handmade jewelry," he said.

Representatives from the City Attorney's office explained that a ruling in March upheld the nominal utility standard and was very clear about what would not be allowed. "Jewelry is not going to be able to be sold on the boardwalk," Deputy City Attorney Mike Nagle said.

"The city attorneys aren't making policies here," he added.

Despite the discontent with the policy on "artisan" wares, the crowd expressed its pleasure that people selling mass-produced commercial goods would be banned from the west side of the boardwalk.

"There are many aspects of this ordinance that I am not happy with, but I am glad that it returns Venice Beach to artistic expression," resident Steven Fisk said.

Barbara Duffy from the Venice Beach Merchants' Association, which represents businesses on the east side of the boardwalk, was likewise supportive of the ordinance. "We have been suffering severly with the allowance of selling commercial goods on the other side," she said, pointing out that temporary vendors don't have to pay rent, or even provide garbage pickup. 

"We support this ordinance, and we wish that you would put it on a fast track," she said.

Duffy's group will likely get its wish. The extra meeting was called at the behest of Councilman Bill Rosendahl, who plans to usher the draft ordinance through committee in August for full City Council approval on Aug. 18.

It remains to be seen whether the new ordinance will hold up in court. Los Angeles gadfly Zuma Dogg vowed Thursday that he would challenge a new ordinance in court as well. He was party to the earlier lawsuit that ended with an injunction against the city's previous ordinance, which had established the permitting and lottery system no longer in use.

It's also unclear whether the "first come, first serve" policy will put an end to the sometimes violent disputes over vending spots.

"The community has expressed its desire to self-regulate," Nagel said.

"Everyone knows what the problem on the boardwalk is," he said later in the meeting. "It's people on the boardwalk intimidating others."

The Venice Neighborhood Council ruled 11-0, with two abstentions, in favor of sending a marked-up version of the ordinance to Rosendahl's office, along with a letter that will offer the council's conditional support.

The VNC's marked-up version says, "Handmade jewelry has to be dealt with separately."

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Editor's note: A previous version of this story misspelled Deputy City Attorney Michael Nagle's last name.