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Building and Safety issues El Mercado certificate of occupancy; vendors face separate court injunction
Summary
Building and Safety reported it issued a certificate of occupancy for the El Mercado building and parking lot after a multi-month effort, but a county court injunction limiting vending on ramps has complicated the tenants’ planned return.
The Los Angeles City Council received a report that the Department of Building and Safety issued a certificate of occupancy for the El Mercado building and adjacent parking lot after a months‑long compliance effort. The action followed an agreement among the property owner, vendors and the council that vendors would vacate the site during building work and return under a variance process.
Council member Pacheco summarized the negotiations: the vendors departed on Nov. 1, 1999, as part of a compromise giving the property owner and the city time to bring the building into compliance and to provide certain accessibility improvements. Building and Safety staff said the department completed the final inspection and issued the certificate of occupancy within the six‑month window the council had set.
However, Pacheco and staff told the council that a separate county court action, brought by neighborhood residents, resulted in a partial ruling: one cause of action was successful and the court permanently enjoined vending on the ramps if such vending would not comply with the zoning. That court order was not coordinated with the council office’s negotiated plan and now complicates the vendors’ return; vendors were told they may face litigation at the county level if they return to the ramps covered by the injunction. The Planning Department has begun the variance process, including a public hearing held May 1.
Building and Safety representatives Andrew Edelman and David Lara reported to the council that the certificate of occupancy was issued after final inspections and thanked Council member Pacheco and his staff for frequent meetings that advanced the negotiations. The council heard that the property owner supplied ADA‑compliant restroom access for vendors on the third floor as part of the compliance work, and that the zoning‑variance process is proceeding at the Department of City Planning.
No new council action was taken on the floor beyond receiving the report; future steps identified on the record include continued variance processing at Planning and acknowledgement that vendors and the property owner must consider potential county litigation tied to the injunction.
