a. There is hereby established a street vendor review panel consisting of four members. Such panel shall include the commissioner of the department of small business services, the director of the department of city planning and the commissioner of the department of transportation, or their respective designees. Such panel shall also include a member appointed by the mayor upon nomination by the speaker of the council. The commissioner of the department of small business services or his or her designee shall serve as chairperson. The departments of small business services, city planning and transportation shall provide such assistance as the street vendor review panel deems necessary and appropriate to enable such panel to carry out its responsibilities. In the same manner as provided in section 1043 of the city charter, the street vendor review panel shall promulgate, and may from time to time amend, rules prohibiting the operation of any general vending business or food vending business, as defined in chapter three of title seventeen of this code, or both, on any street, at any time, after making a determination that such vending business would constitute a serious and immediate threat to the health, safety and well-being of the public on the ground that such street at such time is regularly too congested by pedestrian or vehicular traffic to permit the operation of such business. No general vendor or food vendor, as defined in chapter three of title seventeen of the code, shall vend on any such streets at any such times.
b. Requests for the adoption or amendment of rules prohibiting the operation of any general vending business or food vending business, as defined in chapter three of title seventeen of this code, or both, on any street, at any time, may be submitted to the commissioner of the department of small business services or his or her designee. Within sixty days after the submission of such request, the street vendor review panel shall convene to determine either to deny such request in writing, stating the reasons for denial, or to state its intention to initiate rulemaking, by a specified date, concerning the subject of such request. In initiating a rulemaking, the panel shall not be bound by the streets or times requested, and may modify such streets and such times at its discretion. If the panel has stated the intention to initiate rulemaking, it shall publish such proposed rule for comment and public hearing in the same manner as provided in subdivisions b and d of section 1043 of the city charter. After consideration of the relevant comments presented, the panel may adopt a final rule relating to such streets and such times pursuant to subdivisions d and e of section 1043 of the city charter.
c. Copies of any rules promulgated pursuant to this section shall be mailed to each licensed general vendor or licensed food vendor, by the department or the department of health and mental hygiene, respectively, by regular mail at the last home address provided by the vendor to the department or the department of health and mental hygiene and shall be annexed to each license or renewal issued to any general vendor or food vendor.
d. Nothing herein contained shall exempt any general vendor from the provisions of subdivision g of section 20-465 of this subchapter.
Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 1995/014.