HONOLULU- A bill that would allow lunch wagons and other street vendors to remain at a single location for two hours instead of fifteen minutes passed the first of three required readings Wednesday at the Honolulu City Council.
The measure was introduced by Councilwoman Tulsi Gabbard after Honolulu Police began citing lunch wagons and other street vendors several months ago under what many say is an outdated law. The 1978 city ordinance requires street vendors to move at least 300 feet after being at a location for just fifteen minutes. Violators face a petty misdemeanor charge punishable by up to 30 days in jail and as much as a $1,000 fine.Kathy Sills, who sells homemade popsicles under the brand name Aloha Ice Cream Tricycle, was cited for violating the ordinance on August 20 of last year.However District Judge Linda Luke found Sills not guilty after ruling the ordinance did not specify if the sidewalk Sills was on was actually part of the street.“Because it’s vague as to street or sidewalk, it’s too vague period,” said Marcus Landsberg, Sills’ attorney. Even with the not guilty verdict Sills continues to be visited by police officers whenever she brings her popsicle laden tricycle to the front of the King Kamehameha statue on South King Street. As a result, Sills’ business has suffered.“I was doing probably about 150 (popsicles) a day, now I'm lucky if I do fifty.” Sills has also cut back on the number of days she visits the popular tourist destination, from five or six days a week to just two.“That just speaks to the necessity of passing this bill as quickly as possible,” said Gabbard. “It is having a direct impact on people being able to just go about their business.”The creator of Eat the Street, a monthly gathering of lunch wagons in Kakaako, told Khon2 some lunch wagons may go out of business if Gabbard’s fix of the 1978 ordinance wallows in the City Council."Without this law being passed as soon as possible they can't survive past a week for many of them,” said Poni Askew. “Week-to-week, day-to-day they survive.”Register to log on and leave a commentHave a news tip? Contact Andrew Pereira at 368-7273. Follow Andrew on Twitter at Khon_Reporter or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AndrewPereiraKhon2
