CHAPTER 9-200. COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES ON STREETS


§9-204. Sidewalk Vendors in Center City. [27]


(1) Definitions.

(a) Blockface. One side of a segment of a street that does not extend beyond any intersection with another street, or portion thereof;

(b) Center City. The area bounded by the north side of Vine street, the south side of Bainbridge street, and the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers.

(c) Sidewalk. All that area legally open to public use as a pedestrian public way between the curb line and the legal house line of the abutting property;

(d) Stand. Any showcase, table, bench, rack, handcart, pushcart, stall or any other fixture, device or thing whatever which is used to display, exhibit, carry, transport, store, offer for sale, or sell any food, beverages, goods, wares or merchandise upon the sidewalk;

(e) Sidewalk Vendor. Any person who exhibits, displays, offers for sale or sells any food, beverages, goods, wares or merchandise from any stand while on the sidewalk, except persons who conduct licensed operations pursuant to subsection 9-205(2)(b);

(f) Vendor Advisory Board. The Board created pursuant to subsection 9-204(14).

(2) Exemptions. The provisions of this Section shall not apply to:

(a) The temporary placement of goods, wares, or merchandise on the sidewalk in the ordinary course of delivery, shipment or transfer;

(b) The placing and maintenance of stands and other display or sales devices for the sale, display or offering for sale of newspapers, magazines, periodicals, paperbound books, and the maintenance of lottery machines for the sale of the State Lottery as provided for by the State Lottery Law;

(c) The display and sale of Christmas trees pursuant to a permit issued by the Department during the three (3) weeks prior to December 25;

(d) Sidewalk vending outside of Center City, which is regulated pursuant to Section 9-205.

(e) Sidewalk vending by owners and tenants of properties at the locations listed in subsection (f).[28] Such vending shall be permitted and shall be exempt from the provisions of Section 9-205, including, but not limited to, the license requirement of subsection 9-205(3), provided:

(.1) Such sidewalk vending is accessory to a business conducted in the abutting property;

(.2) Sidewalk vending takes place within forty inches (40") of the building line;

(.3) A minimum of five feet (5') of unobstructed sidewalk width shall be maintained at all times;

(.4) All goods, wares, and merchandise sold or offered for sale shall be of like type and quality as that sold in the business conducted in the abutting property; and

(.5) All items displayed for sale shall be arranged in a single layer so that no such item is placed on top of another such item.

(f) Subsection (e) shall apply to owners and tenants of properties at the following locations:

(.1) The 900, 1000, 1100, 1200, and 1300 blocks of Pine street.[29]

(3) License. It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in the business of a sidewalk vendor within Center City without first obtaining a license pursuant to this Section from the Department.

(a) Each license shall show the name and address of the licensee, the category of goods to be sold (prepared food, produce and flowers, or merchandise), the blockface on which the licensee is permitted to vend, the time period or periods for which the vendor is licensed (Day, Evening, and/or Weekend), the amount of the license fee, the date of issuance, the license number, an identifying description of the stand used by the licensee and, if applicable, the motor vehicle trailer registration number. Each license shall also show the expiration date of the license and the licensee’s plate number as issued by the Department.

(b) Every license issued under this Section shall be issued as of the first day of January of the then current calendar year and shall be effective, unless suspended or revoked, until the thirty-first (31st) day of December of the same calendar year. Licenses may be renewed in accordance with this Section for similar one (1) year periods.

(c) No more than two (2) licenses shall be issued under this Section to any one person, and each such license shall permit the licensee to operate only one (1) stand.

(d) All licenses issued under this Section shall permit the licensee to conduct licensed operations only on the single blockface designated in the license. Subject to the restrictions set forth in subsection 9-204(10), and subject to subsection 9-204(8)(f) a licensee may conduct licensed operations from any location on the designated blockface.
(e) Each license shall permit the licensee to conduct licensed operations during any or all of the following three (3) time periods: Day (six a.m. to six p.m., Monday through Friday); Evening (six p.m. to eleven p.m., Monday through Friday); and Weekend (Saturday and Sunday). Licensees need only obtain a single license to conduct licensed operations on a blockface during any one (1), two (2) or all three (3) of these time periods, subject to the provisions of subsection 9-204(12)(c)(.3).

(f) Every license shall be non-assignable and non-transferable.[30]

(4) License Issuance. Licenses shall be issued upon compliance with the following:

(a) The applicant furnishes the following information:

(.1) proof of identity and address, together with two (2) photographs of the applicant, not less than two (2) inches square, nor more than three (3) inches square;

(.2) the category of what is to be sold (prepared food, produce and flowers, or merchandise);

(.3) the applicant’s five (5) selections, in order of the applicant’s preferences, as to the blockfaces at which he or she wishes to vend, selected from the list of available and permitted blockfaces designated pursuant to subsection 9-204(8) and for each such blockface, the time period or periods (as set forth in subsection 9-204(3)(e)) during which the applicant wishes to vend;

(.4) the applicant’s current and valid Pennsylvania sales tax identification number, and current and valid Philadelphia business privilege license number.

(b) The applicant pays a non-refundable application fee of fifty ($50) dollars; and

(c) The applicant, after being notified by the Department that his application has been provisionally approved,
(.1) agrees to an approved location selected pursuant to subsection 9-204(8);

(.2) has his stand inspected and approved, if required by subsection 9-204(9);

(.3) pays the initial license fee of two hundred ($200) dollars; and

(.4) attends an orientation session conducted by the Department at which the applicant will receive a booklet containing copies of this Section and applicable regulations, and at which those provisions will be explained.

(5) Identification and License Plates. Each person licensed under this Section or his employee shall, while engaged in the business of vending, carry a license on his person. In addition to the license, the Department shall issue a license plate bearing the words "Sidewalk Vendor," the year for which issued, and the number of the license plate, which shall correspond to the number which appears on the license. The words "Sidewalk Vendor" and the license plate number shall be of uniform size and plainly discernible. The license plate shall be attached to the stand in a place which is clearly visible to the public. The color of the license plate shall be changed at the beginning of each calendar year. License plates and licenses shall be used only by the person to whom they were issued or his employee and may not under any circumstances, except as provided in subsection 9-204(13), be transferred to any other person.

(6) License Renewal; Change of License Information; Change in Category of Goods Sold.

(a) The Department shall send to each person licensed under this Section, at a time reasonably in advance of the end of each license year, a renewal license. If the licensee returns the renewal license to the Department, together with payment of the annual renewal fee of two hundred fifty ($250) dollars and a statement of the changes, if any, in the license information required by subsection 9-204(4), the Department shall then validate the renewal license and return it, together with a new license plate, to the licensee, who shall thereby be licensed for the succeeding license year. If the licensee fails to return the renewal license to the Department within thirty (30) days of the date the Department sent it to the licensee, an employee of the Department shall on one occasion visit the blockface for which the licensee is licensed during the licensee’s usual hours of operation in an attempt to contact the licensee personally and inform the licensee of the need to return the renewal license to the Department. If the licensee fails to return the renewal license to the Department within thirty (30) days of the date the Department employee visited the licensee’s blockface (whether or not the employee was able to contact the licensee), then the licensee shall be deemed to have failed to apply for renewal, the license shall not be renewed, and the licensee’s blockface location shall be reassigned in accordance with the regulations adopted pursuant to subsection 9-204(8)(c).

(b) Licensees must, during the license year, notify the Department in writing of any change in the information required by subsection 9-204(4), within thirty (30) days of such change, provided that no licensee may change the category of what is sold to include prepared food without the prior approval of the Department, which shall be granted if all legal requirements for the selling of food from the stand are met.

(7) Trash Removal and Clean Up: Sanitation.

(a) Licensees are responsible for maintaining the sidewalk within fifteen feet of their stands clean of all trash generated by their vending operations, and for washing the sidewalk in the area occupied by their stands in the manner and at frequencies specified by the Department by regulation.

(b) Licensees must take with them at the end of each day all trash, litter, garbage and refuse generated by their vending operations. No licensee may place or deposit any trash, litter, garbage or refuse generated by his licensed operations on the sidewalk, in any public receptacle, or on any private property without the express permission of the property owner.

(8) Vending Locations.

(a) Council shall by ordinance designate the blockfaces upon which vending shall be permitted and the maximum number of sidewalk vendor licenses that may be issued for each such blockface, subject to a total maximum of three hundred (300) sidewalk vendor locations in all of Center City. No blockface at the following locations shall be designated as a location at which vending shall be permitted:

(.1) Sidewalks abutting Washington square;

(.2) Sidewalks abutting Rittenhouse square;

(.3) South street, from Broad street to the Delaware River;

(.4) Market street, from Fifth street to City Hall;

(.5) Walnut street, from Twenty-fourth street to Broad street;

(.6) Chestnut street, from Twenty-fourth street to Front street;[31]

(.7) Vine street, from the Delaware River to Eighteenth street; and

(.8) Broad street, from Vine street to Pine street.

(b) The Department shall maintain and make available for public inspection during regular business hours a complete list of all permitted vending locations as designated by Ordinance.

(c) The Vendor Advisory Board shall develop and submit to the Department for final consideration regulations devising procedures, in accordance with the provisions of subsection 9-204(8)(d), to choose among competing applicants for a particular blockface if not all applicants may be accommodated on that blockface, to assign blockfaces to applicants whose preferences cannot be accommodated, to create a waiting list and other methods as necessary to reassign blockface locations that become available because of license revocation or failure to renew a license, and to assign new locations to licensees who wish or are required, pursuant to subsection 9-204(8)(f), to change locations.
(d) Applicants for a particular blockface shall be chosen as follows:

(.1) Applicants who have conducted licensed vending operations on such blockface for at least two (2) years from the date this Section became law shall receive first preference. Such applicants shall be ranked according to the number of whole years (but not portions thereof) they have conducted licensed vending operations on such blockface, and selections among equally ranked such applicants shall be by lottery, unless such equally ranked applicants agree among themselves who shall be selected;

(.2) If the maximum number of sidewalk vendors on a particular blockface is not filled by the procedure set forth in subsection 9-204(8)(d)(.1), then next preference shall be granted to applicants who have conducted licensed vending operations at a location within one thousand feet of such blockface for at least two (2) years from the date this Section became law. Such applicants shall be ranked according to the number of whole years (but not portions thereof) they have conducted licensed vending operations at such location, and selections among equally ranked such applicants shall be by lottery, unless such equally ranked applicants agree among themselves who shall be selected.

(.3) If the maximum number of sidewalk vendors on a particular blockface is not filled by the procedures set forth in subsections 9-204(8)(d)(.1) and 9-204(8)(d)(.2), then any additional applicants for such blockface shall be ranked according to the number of whole years (but not portions thereof) they have conducted licensed vending operations at a location in Center City, and selections among equally ranked such applicants shall be by lottery.

(.4) If a person applies for more than one (1) license, such person may have his past vending operations considered under subsections 9-204(8)(d).1) and (.2) only for a single blockface location.

(e) Licenses that are renewed shall permit the licensee to continue to vend from the same blockface as designated in the license being renewed.

(f) Issuance of a license for a particular blockface is not a guarantee that such blockface will remain a permitted vending location for the duration of the license or any renewal periods. Council may by ordinance remove a blockface from the list of designated blockfaces, or reduce the number of vendors permitted on such blockface. If Council removes a blockface from the list of designated blockfaces, vendors licensed for such blockface must apply to the Department for a new blockface designation under the procedures adopted pursuant to subsection 9-204(8)(c). If Council reduces the number of vendors permitted on a blockface, the Department shall determine which vendor or vendors may no longer vend on such blockface, pursuant to the criteria set forth in subsection 9-204(8)(d), and such vendor or vendors must apply to the Department for a new blockface designation under the procedures adopted pursuant to subsection 9-204(8)(c).

(9) Permitted Stand Designs and Required Stand Maintenance.

(a) Licensed sidewalk vendors may only use stands that have been inspected and approved by the Department as in conformance with design regulations promulgated by the Department. Such regulations shall address the dimensions, structural materials, mobility, and other design aspects of the stands, with the purpose of protecting public safety and ensuring that stands are placed on the public rights-of-way and maintained in a neat, clean and orderly fashion, and ensure that all stands:

(.1) not exceed four feet in width, eight feet in length, or eight feet in height, such dimensions including all merchandise extensions and coverings (provided that the regulations may create exceptions permitting merchandise extensions and coverings to be outside the dimensions of the stand if the public safety and pedestrian right-of-way are protected), but excluding trailer hitches and enclosed propane tanks located above the area occupied by such hitches;

(.2) have storage areas not visible to the public;

(.3) be capable of transporting all vendor’s wares such that vendor can set up and break down the stand without placing any objects on the footway or cartway beyond the four feet by eight feet allowable space;

(.4) be of materials that are durable and easy to clean;

(.5) have advertising and other signage limited to the name of the stand or items sold and listing of items sold and price; in lettering not to exceed prescribed size;

(.6) be readily movable by vendor;

(.7) for stands from which are sold prepared food, produce, flowers, or any other item or items which the Department by regulation designates as generating trash, provide, within the four feet by eight feet by eight feet permitted dimensions of the stand, or above the area occupied by a trailer hitch, at least a twenty (20) gallon capacity trash storage area; and

(.8) not be propelled by an internal combustion engine.

(b) The regulations promulgated pursuant to subsection 9-204(9)(a) shall include specific approved designs. If a licensee wishes to use a design other than one (1) of those specifically approved by regulation, the licensee must submit the proposed stand design, in detail required by the Department, for the Department’s approval under the criteria listed in subsection 9-204(9)(a). Upon receipt of the proposed stand design in required detail, the Department shall forward the proposed design to the Vendor Advisory Board, which shall review the design and recommend to the Department whether it should be approved or disapproved.

(c) Once a licensee’s stand design is approved, the Department will make a photograph of the approved stand, and no alterations or additions may be made without the Department’s approval of the new stand design in accordance with subsection 9-204(9)(b).

(d) The Department shall also promulgate regulations requiring licensees to maintain their carts in clean and good working order so as to fulfill the purpose of this subsection 9-204(9).
(e) Stands from which food or beverages are sold must also be in compliance with all applicable provisions of the Health and Fire Codes.

(10) Prohibited Locations. No person shall vend at any of the following locations:

(a) at any location other than the blockface designated in the vendor’s license;

(b) at any location that would reduce the unobstructed pedestrian right-of-way to less than six and one-half feet, such width not to include the width of any grate;

(c) within ten feet of the extension of legal building lines;

(d) on medians of divided highways;

(e) on any portion of a sidewalk directly in front of any building entrance, loading dock or loading ramp;

(f) within twenty-five feet upstream (in the direction from which vehicular traffic in the nearest curbside lane approaches) of any bus stop sign;

(g) within ten feet of subway entrance or exits;

(h) within ten feet of a fire hydrant;

(i) Reserved;[32]

(j) within fifteen feet upstream of any mid-block crosswalk;

(k) within fifteen feet of any alley or driveway;

(l) within ten feet of a newsstand;

(m) within five feet of where the curbs have been depressed to facilitate pedestrian or vehicular movement; and

(n) more than eighteen inches from the curb line except that with the express, written consent of the abutting owner, a sidewalk vendor may place a stand at the building line.

(11) Other Prohibited Conduct. No vendor or person shall:[33]

(a) conduct himself or his business in such a way as would restrict or interfere with the ingress or egress of the abutting owner or tenant, or in such a way as would create or become a nuisance or hazard to public health, safety or welfare, or increase traffic congestion or delay, or constitute an obstruction to adequate access to fire, police, or sanitation vehicles;

(b) leave any stand unattended on a sidewalk at any time;

(c) conduct licensed operations between eleven (11) p.m. and six (6) a.m.

(d) Violate the provisions of subsection 9-205(8)(r), relating to the Pennsylvania Trademark Act or non-conforming recording devices; and any violations shall be subject to the enforcement provisions of subsection 9-205(8)(r), in addition to any other enforcement provisions provided by law.[34]

(12) Penalties, License Suspension, Revocation, and Loss of Assigned Location.

(a) The penalty for violation of any provision of this section is, in addition to any other sanctions provided, a fine not exceeding three hundred ($300) dollars for each offense. Each day of violation shall be deemed a separate offense. Violations may also result in a license suspension of up to thirty (30) days, or license revocation. Violations of subsection 9-204(7) shall result in a license suspension of up to one (1) week. Licenses may also be revoked if any fine is not paid within ten (10) days of imposition by a final order from which all appeals have been exhausted. An order of the Department revoking a license shall also specify when the licensee may reapply for a license, which shall be not less than ninety (90) days nor more than one (1) year from the date of revocation. Persons reapplying for licenses after having their licenses revoked shall be assigned locations pursuant to subsection 9-204(8) as if they were new applicants not previously licensed.

(b) In addition to the penalties provided in subsection 9-204(12)(a), the Department is hereby authorized, when a uniformed police officer is present, to remove any stand, equipment, goods, wares, merchandise or any other article or thing held for sale by any licensee who uses the sidewalk or streets in violation of this Section and refuses to comply immediately with this Section upon written notice of violation and an order to vacate the sidewalk or streets. The licensee shall be immediately notified of the place where his property can be reclaimed and shall be entitled to claim his property immediately upon payment of the costs of removal.

(c) Any license issued under this Section may also be revoked for any of the following reasons:

(.1) fraud, misrepresentation or knowingly false statement contained in the application for the license;

(.2) fraud, misrepresentation or knowingly false statement in the course of carrying on licensed operations; or

(.3) failure to conduct licensed operations during a vending time period (Day, Evening, and/or Weekend) for any consecutive twenty (20) day period, without prior notice to the Department. Violation of this subsection 9-204(12)(c)(.3) shall result in license revocation only for the vending time period or periods during which the licensee failed to conduct operations.

(d) Whenever a licensee’s license is revoked under this subsection 9-204(12), the location to which the licensee had been assigned shall be reassigned in accordance with the procedures established pursuant to subsection 9-204(8)(d).

(13) Reserved.[35]



(14) Vendor Advisory Board.

(a) A Vendor Advisory Board shall be created consisting of nine (9) members. The Mayor shall appoint as members two (2) representatives of the vendor community, a representative of the business community, a representative of neighborhood resident organizations, and three (3) other persons. The City Council President shall appoint two (2) members. Members shall serve one (1) year terms.

(b) The Vendor Advisory Board shall have the powers and duties set forth in this Section, and any additional powers and duties conferred by the Mayor.

(c) Before the Department promulgates any regulations pursuant to this Section, the Board shall in the first instance develop proposed regulations and submit them to the Department for final consideration.

(15) Vendor Malls. The Department shall examine whether vendor malls should be created in Center City, and shall make a recommendation to City Council as to whether Council should create such vendor malls by ordinance. If City Council by ordinance creates vendor malls in Center City, then the maximum number of sidewalk vendor locations in Center City for purposes of subsection 9-204(8)(a) shall be reduced by the number of licensed vendors actually occupying such mall locations, provided that the maximum number of sidewalk vendor locations in Center City for purposes of subsection 9-204(8)(a) shall not be reduced below 275.[36]

(16) Construction. No part of this Section or the Section itself shall be construed to be in amplification or derogation of the rights of responsibilities of abutting property owners. Any remedy, right or obligation provided to such owners of property or their successors in interest under the law of real property or the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania shall be in addition to the remedies, rights, obligations or penalties provided hereunder.

(17) Severability. Each of the provisions of this Section is severable, and if any provision is held invalid, the remaining provisions shall not be affected, but shall remain in full force and effect.