Street Vending Records

Series

Identifier: 2618-07

Scope and Contents Note

The Board of Public Works authorized street vending carts in 1972, with a one-page document providing all of the regulations for cart owners. As the number of vendors increased over the next decade, the city saw a need to update those regulations and commissioned a report from the Engineering Department to clarify existing regulations and recommend improvements. This series includes that report, its drafts and appendices, records of public forums, and correspondence about the new regulations. It also includes research done into other cities' regulations, news clippings about response to the updates, and a collection of street vendor permits and invoices from before and after the new regulations took effect.

Dates

Creation: 1977-1986

Conditions Governing Access

Records are open to the public.

Historical Note

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The Engineering Department (SED) maintained the City’s streets and bridges, designed and oversaw construction of public works projects, provided traffic and transportation planning, and operated the sewer and solid waste utility. The position of City Surveyor was created in 1873 to survey the City, establish boundaries and street grades, and administer condemnation processes. This position was renamed City Engineer in 1890. In 1931 the Engineering Department absorbed part of the Department of Public Utilities and in 1936 it assumed the responsibilities of the Department of Streets and Sewers and the Traffic Department. In 1997, the water, solid waste, drainage, and wastewater utilities from the Engineering and Water departments were merged with the Engineering Services Division of SED and the Customer Service Call Center and Construction Engineering Sections of City Light to form Seattle Public Utilities. The traffic and transportation functions of the Engineering Department were consolidated in the Seattle Transportation Department.