Planning Commission finds Mount Vernon Avenue vending pilot consistent with master plan after split vote, 3‑2

The Alexandria Planning Commission on Jan. 9 voted 3‑2 that a proposed one‑year pilot program to allow limited street vending in the 3800 block of Mount Vernon Avenue is consistent with the city’s master plan, sending the matter to City Council for next steps on implementation.

Staff, represented by Catherine Caraway of the Department of Planning and Zoning, told the commission the pilot would designate five on‑street vending spaces on the east side of the 3800 block, each limited to a 10‑by‑6 area (half a standard parking space). The pilot would allow sale of whole, uncut produce and small non‑food items, operate on a first‑come, first‑serve basis, and require applicants to carry annual licensing and liability insurance. Caraway said the pilot responds to a Small Area Plan recommendation and aims to balance vendor opportunity with pedestrian safety and storefront access.

Caraway described staff’s enforcement approach as a joint enforcement team composed of planning and zoning, health, transportation and police; she said the city is actively recruiting a program manager to coordinate vendors and businesses. The commission’s discussion, however, focused on enforcement limits and safety. Commissioners and staff acknowledged the health department’s current limitation — permitting only sale of whole, uncut produce — and that the police department expressed concerns about traffic and after‑hours activity. A commissioner quoted a brief exchange with APD leadership: commissioners were told enforcement staffing does not cover nights and weekends unless council provides additional resources.

Nearby business leaders warned of safety and parking impacts. Steve Weinstock, managing partner of Delray North Shopping Center, told the commission he and tenants have experienced vendor activity on private lots and said the area is narrow and congested: “Putting the street vendors and their customers and their suppliers in the street is putting them all in danger,” he said, urging more active police enforcement.

Supporters on the commission cited the Small Area Plan’s recommendation to pilot vending to increase economic opportunity and neighborhood access to fresh food and said a limited, five‑slot pilot would be controllable. Opponents said the program as proposed lacked necessary operational detail — start/end dates, hours, and guaranteed enforcement coverage — and one commissioner said she could support deferral rather than approval. The motion before the commission narrowly found the change in use of the parking spaces to vending consistent with the master plan; the motion passed 3‑2.

The Planning Commission closed the public hearing on the item and will forward the consistency finding to City Council for its consideration, where staff said implementation parameters and enforcement resource requests would be considered.