Sidewalk vendors voice concerns over proposed restrictions, fees

When Marely Rosales saw the recent sidewalk vending restrictions for the Las Vegas Valley, she said she knew that would mean higher cost for her customers.

Rosales spoke out about her concerns Wednesday evening during a town hall meeting about the ordinances and limitations placed on street vendors.

She wasn’t alone. Other vendors also voiced their apprehension during the event hosted by Make the Road Nevada and the Nevada Immigration Coalition and held at Whitney Recreational Center.

Last month Clark County implemented its first ordinance prohibiting sales from the Strip and stadiums in unincorporated space. The city of the Las Vegas has proposed its own limits in places where vendors have the most success — near churches, schools and parks.

“The dream is not to stay as a street vendor — our dream is much larger,” Rosales said in Spanish. But the requirements may make it impossible for most to remain vendors as the cost of operations would increase.

Because of the cost of using a commissary kitchen, she said she will have to stop cooking tamales and cut back on cooking corn. She believes that if her prices increase, she will lose customers.

Eduardo Moreno, a sidewalk vendor, said that sales are low right now and that he has had to seek out whatever work he can find, such as painting houses, to make ends meet. He said he makes less than a couple hundred dollars a day as a street vendor.

“I feel very few of us will be able to benefit and afford [to be a vendor],” Moreno said.

The city of Las Vegas is aware that many vendors are upset over the restrictions the city is planning to implement, said Minerva Gomez, the city’s business license section manager.

Gomez has asked vendors and residents to fill out a survey to express their concerns or email Gomez at mgomez@lasvegasnevada.gov.

While there may be many restrictions now, state Sen. Fabian Doñate, D-Las Vegas, told the audience that he will work to try to get one license applicable across the entire valley instead of having licenses for each municipality.

“We’re really small businesses, and they don’t give us enough resources to follow the requirement that they need,” Rosales said. “I would like them to simplify more to make it easier to comply with all that they’re asking for.”

Contact Jimmy Romo at jromo@reviewjournal.com or call 702-383-0350. Follow @jimi_writes on X.