CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — The NoDa Business Association (NBA) says it will explore the possible creation of a task force to determine the potential future for street vendor business in the neighborhood.   

According to an October newsletter, the task force would focus on possible ways to regulate street vendors, after a series of complaints were filed with the NBA by business owners.

The complaints are said to have centered around some vendors who’ve created crowded sidewalks during weekend and evening hours, some who have blocked businesses, and in a rare case, created a space for violence.   

“You come out here, and 98 percent of the time you’re going to see non-crowded street, no violence,” Ready Hill told Queen City News. “There are some new vendors who come here and could do a better job of understanding how this organism works.”   

Hill used to own a street vendor site in NoDa, but has since moved his business operations elsewhere.   

Now he acts as a voice for vendors, and stressed that many of them face an uphill battle right out of the gate already.   

“It takes a lot to come out here and be completely unsure of what you’re going to make that day,” he said. 

Another street vendor told Queen City News that he’s seen vendors and businesses in the area be able to thrive off one another. He believes additional restrictions would force him and others who’ve operated in the area to take their businesses elsewhere.

According to the newsletter, NBA board members drafted a letter during a September board meeting to send to city leaders which would have asked street vendors for various requests. Those include being required to have a permit and restricting them from selling certain goods; the board aims to increase enforcement of the rules by law enforcement.   

In the newsletter, it was revealed that after a conversation with City Council District 1 Rep. Dante Anderson, NBA board members withdrew their intendent letter to city leaders.   

Instead they will explore the possibility of the creation of a task force which would include members of the NBA, business owners and street vendors themselves.   

If created, one of their duties would be to find a middle ground for street vendor operations, which could include some type of permit, and restriction of the selling of certain items.   

A timeline for the task force creation is unknown. The board will meet to discuss further on Nov. 7.