City Council approves vending permits for Indigenous People's Day

Oct. 4—With Indigenous Peoples' Day only a week away, the Santa Fe City Council on Monday unanimously approved a measure to allow a celebration of the holiday and two other small community events to be held annually on the downtown Plaza with commercial vendors.

Under the new measure, the city will add Santa Fe Pride, Juneteenth and Indigenous Peoples' Day events to a list of eight larger art markets and festivals that are issued permits for commercial operations on the Plaza.

The version of the ordinance approved Monday replaced an earlier proposal that called for making Indigenous Peoples' Day and Juneteenth the top priorities for new commercial vendor licenses, with six other commercial licenses distributed through a lottery system to small yearly events on the Plaza.

Now organizers of other events seeking to allow vendors to market their wares — like art, food and T-shirts — will be limited to one commercial space, such as a tent.

The measure defines a small commercial event as one that is limited to the Plaza and doesn't require a street to close.

"The Plaza is for the people, and I'm excited to see how the ... ordinance will manifest in positive ways for cultural events in support of local vendors and artisans," City Councilor Renee Villarreal said.

Villarreal co-sponsored the bill with Councilor Chris Rivera.

City code previously allowed for only eight large commercial events on the Plaza: the Challenge New Mexico Arts and Crafts Show, the Fourth of July Pancakes on the Plaza, Traditional Spanish Market, Contemporary Hispanic Market, the Santa Fe Girls Inc. Arts and Craft Show, Santa Fe Indian Market, the Fiesta Fine Arts and Craft Market over Labor Day weekend and Fiesta de Santa Fe.

Events such as Indigenous Peoples' Day and Juneteenth — recognized as a federal holiday in 2021 — had to obtain annual permits to host events on the Plaza, and those permits didn't allow vendors to market items. Only the organizer presenting an event could sell goods.

Although no citizens commented at Monday's hearing, much of the public has expressed support for adding vendors to the three events.

"It is important for Santa Fe to acknowledge, support and observe many different cultural events during the year to encourage inclusivity in our community," Cindy Hall, vice chairwoman of the Santa Fe Indigenous Center, said at a September hearing. "The Plaza has been a center for commerce for as long as this area has been documented and belongs to the people of Santa Fe, not just the downtown merchants and not just the tourists."

The bill experienced a couple of delays and a number of revisions after it was introduced in the summer.

Villarreal had proposed a commercial permit lottery system for five or six other cultural events. Organizations vying for a permit would have been required to present the same city-permitted event in at least two of the past five years.

The idea for a lottery was dropped to narrow the scope.

Mayor Alan Webber praised Villarreal for sticking with the measure as it underwent many changes, calling it "a valiant effort."

"I think we'll all benefit from it," Webber said. "I think we're going to see the benefits very soon."