End to NoDa street vendors? Charlotte could change iconic feature of vibrant arts district
.jpg "A flyer on a post in NoDa urges people to sign a petition in support of street vendors who sell art, clothing and more along N. Davidson Street.")
A Charlotte neighborhood known for its vibrant arts scene may be at risk of losing an iconic feature, and local leaders say they’re working to find a compromise to keep the tradition alive.
Charlotte city officials are considering giving the NoDa Neighborhood and Business Association more power to regulate street vendors there. It’s a debate vendors who work along North Davidson Street worry could impact their livelihoods and the culture of the neighborhood.
If the proposal succeeds, the neighborhood and business association would take on the responsibility of permitting vendors in the area, association President Krysten Reilly and Charlotte City Council member Danté Anderson said. The set-up would be similar to Center City Partners role in managing vendors in uptown, Anderson said.
That option, still in the early phase of discussion, was floated in the wake of some business owners calling on the association to press the city to crack down on vendors in a meeting first reported by Queen City Nerve.
NoDa street vendor petition
The current debate over street vendors began in August, when a group of business owners shared at a neighborhood association meeting their concerns with street vendors being aggressive and threatening, Queen City Nerve reported.
Among the issues brought up: a June shooting in the heart of NoDa on a Friday evening. That incident left two people hospitalized with serious — but not life-threatening — injuries, The Charlotte Observer reported at the time.
The association’s board then drafted a letter to the city. It asked leaders to consider making NoDa a “Congested Business District,” look into new ordinances regarding street vendors and increase enforcement of existing ordinances.
Some in the neighborhood worried about those proposals.
Flyers posted around NoDa urged people to visit an online petition in support of street vendors. The petition, signed by more than 1,500 people as of Monday morning, warns that “a handful of neighborhood residents and businesses has asked city officials to immediately ban street vendors in NoDa.”
“If successful, this campaign will be a step in the direction of transforming our neighborhood’s funky, lively vibe into that of a sterile shopping mall or suburban subdivision,” it says.
Reilly, the association president, said it was never the group’s intention to get rid of street vending entirely in NoDa.
“That’s not what we were trying to do at all,” she said.
The association’s goal, she said, is to find “a happy middle ground where maybe not everybody is 100% happy but everybody feels comfortable.”
“Some people have no issues whatsoever. Some people would like to see some regulation. Some people would say we don’t want (street vending),” she said of the opinions of residents and business owners.
Street vendors watching closely
Mondavian Micquell, who’s sold handmade jewelry in NoDa on weekends for about four years, told the Observer he understands why some business owners may get frustrated with some vendors, but he said artisans such as himself provide one-of-a-kind products that help “make the experience” of NoDa.
And, he added, it would be unfair for all vendors to be kicked out.
“We all don’t have that privilege to have a brick and mortar,” he said.
Micquell said he’s never had any safety concerns. He typically sets up further down the street — near the Johnston YMCA and away from the bars and restaurants on the street’s main drag — and knows the other business owners on his part of the street.
Fellow street vendor Koury McJunkins, who’s sold shirts in NoDa for about a year, said getting rid of vendors “doesn’t really make much sense.”
“A lot of the street vendors and artists out here are a part of the culture of the city, of this part of the city,” he said sitting at his table outside Billy Jack’s Shack.
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Xavier The Artist, a Charlotte-based painter, is new to selling his work in NoDa. But he’s already heard about the street vending proposals.
“I completely don’t like that. I don’t think that’s okay,” he said of the possibility of a crackdown on vendors. “I feel like vendors and artists should be able to express themselves and sell and show their art to everyone that they can … And it shouldn’t stop or make other businesses feel like their business is getting harmed.”
‘Delicate conversations’ will continue
Anderson, whose District 1 includes NoDa, says “a delicate conversation” between all parties involved will figure out what’s next for street vending in NoDa.
“It’s a lot of people in a small area. And the street vendors clearly go because they have clientele there, but they also enjoy being a part of that community …,” she said. “Half the residents want to see the street vendors continue to stay. They understand that they have a presence and they create an aesthetic to NoDa that would be very different without any street vendors whatsoever. And then there’s another arm of the residents who are still very concerned about the congestion on the sidewalks and a few aggressive vendors.”
Anderson said she “would love for the merchants associations and the street vendors to begin collaborating and having conversations about how they can coexist in the same space in the same neighborhood.”
Reilly said she’s hopeful about a solution.
“We’re going to try to work directly with the city so that we can put a good program in place to keep (vending), but keep it in a way where people are not feeling like they’re threatened and we’re not closing the sidewalks and restricting ADA access,” she said.
The association is also speaking with leaders in Boone, who recently overhauled their street vending ordinances, to learn more about best practices.
As the parties work to find answers, Anderson said the city is “working on how we can enforce making sure that the sidewalks are clear and passable.” She’s hopeful the city’s new “Rapid Response Unit” — a team that will have the authority to address issues such as parking violations or blocked sidewalks — will be of use in NoDa.
“That’s going to be an option that we haven’t had previously,” she said.
This story was originally published October 2, 2023 at 1:57 PM.
