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DLCP director defends stronger enforcement in mayor’s Vending Compliance bill (B26‑370)
Summary
DLCP Director Tiffany Crow told the committee B26‑370 restores enforcement tools — including higher civil fines, seizure, towing, and misdemeanor offenses — to deter unlicensed vendors that, she said, create public‑safety and ADA hazards; advocates warned such powers could recriminalize vendors without improved licensing processes.
Tiffany Crow, director of the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection, testified in support of the mayor’s B26‑370, saying the agency needs stronger tools to address unlicensed vendors who, she said, park food trucks in bike lanes, block crosswalks and hydrants, and have caused fires. Crow described a 21% increase in new vending licenses in fiscal 2025 but argued fines and criminal misdemeanor authority are necessary to deter repeat bad actors and protect public safety.
Vendor advocates and ANC leaders disputed DLCP’s focus on criminalization, warning that involving MPD and expanding seizure authority risks reintroducing harmful enforcement outcomes for working‑class Black and brown vendors. Jeff Gilbert said the mayor’s text "seeks to restore DLCP's punitive powers to criminalize street vending without a license" and cautioned the committee to preserve licensing access and due process measures such as expedited administrative hearings.
