Street vending now illegal in NoDa

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The NoDa Neighborhood in Charlotte is known for its street vendors. Only one vendor remained on North Davidson Street selling shirts and other merchandise Monday.

The City of Charlotte ended its NoDa Market Pilot Program Sunday and anyone caught selling could now face a $500 fine.

“There just wasn’t enough space in the public right of way to operate,” Councilwoman Dante Anderson representing District 1 said. “What staff found at the end of that six months is that the legacy infrastructure and the lack of adherence, as well as an entity to actually administer the program, were reasons why we couldn’t continue the program.”

In six months, fewer than 50 people paid $100 dollars for a permit to sell in specific spots. City officials say narrow NoDa sidewalks make space a safety issue. There have even problems with vendors blocking the fire station.

“Other spaces over in South End they have wider berths, wider sidewalks. Much more public common space and so it’s easier to navigate. However, you do have to do so through a permit process,” Councilwoman Anderson said.

Some council members say the city should take a closer look at policies for street vendors in other cities.

“I’m wondering if there are some things that just created barriers of entry to our small business entrepreneurs. So that’s something we got to dig into and really unpack,” Councilwoman Victoria Watlington said. “I think we would do well to study a lot of our other arts and cultural centers across the nation to really understand how they’re making it work.”

Business owners in NoDa have been divided over finding a balance between store fronts and sidewalk tables.

Vendors can still get a permit to sell on the streets in other parts of Charlotte like South End or Uptown. The city is hosting listening session Tuesday night to talk about citywide street vending at the Government Center in Uptown starting at 6 pm.