On March 1, Shoemaker decided to sell his work in the Art District on Santa Fe for the first time during an Art Walk. According to the artist, things were going pretty well until city employees approached him to talk about street vending permits that he didn’t have.
“The people that did come up to me from the city were very kind and polite people, but when they came up to me, they handed me this 'notice of compliance' document,” Shoemaker says. “If you're selling arts, or if you're peddling a product on the sidewalk, you can't be interrupting the flow of traffic.”
Numerous Santa Fe vendors received letters from the city directing them to visit a Street Occupancy information website that outlines laws and regulations. Shoemaker has spoken with other artists who were also unaware of the rules and are worried about potential citations and fines from the city — though city officials say they still prefer education over enforcement.
According to Eric Escudero, communications director for the Department of Excise & Licenses, the city received complaints from storefront businesses on Santa Fe claiming people were setting up tables on the sidewalk in front of their space on First Fridays.
In Denver, it is illegal to occupy any part of the right-of-way, including sidewalks, without a permit. Excise & Licenses is working with the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure, which oversees the public right-of-way, to educate artists about proper permitting and placement requirements.
“There are safety concerns with traffic speeding by near the sidewalk at First Friday where people were setting up tables,” Escudero says. “We don’t want a horrific accident to happen with a vehicle crashing into people gathered around a table on a sidewalk. No city allows people to just set up a business on a public sidewalk unless there is a special permit.”
Denver Vendor Permit Requirements
In Denver, people must apply for a Street Occupancy Permit to set up tables on a right-of-way. The city also has peddler licenses, but those aren’t for people like First Friday vendors. Peddler license holders are supposed to be constantly moving, like the snack vendors outside of Rockies games.Those who want to set up tables must be sure they set them up in a safe and legal manner. In many places along Santa Fe, that means tables can’t be set up on the sidewalk at all, however, because of spacing requirements.
“The requirement is that a five-foot open and unobstructed sidewalk be maintained,” DOTI communications director Nancy Kuhn says. “In many areas along this corridor, the sidewalks are too narrow to maintain safe and clear access around a table setup. So we will likely be pointing and permitting sidewalk vendors to set up on the side streets.”
Potential side streets for vendors include Seventh and Ninth avenues, according to DOTI. Street Occupancy Permits start at $50, but the cost varies based on the street, time requested and amount of space needed.
Anyone not complying with the rules is subject to enforcement, Kuhn adds, but the city has been attempting to notify Denver artists with warning letters over the last two months.
“We want to support these vendors — and at the same time, we want them to set up and operate in a way that is safe for all and maintains mobility,” she says.
Shoemaker hopes the city will make more efforts to be clear about the policy for future First Fridays, so other artists aren't cited or fined.
“It'd be a real shame if this caught everybody by surprise,” he says, adding that any fine amount could potentially drastically impact an artist’s finances.
Fines range from $150 for a first offense to $999 for repeated violations. The city is hoping fines won’t be needed, though. According to Escudero, education is still the preferred route, "so there is hopefully no need for enforcement."
