Arlington County is looking to liven up its plazas and parks by allowing permanent vendor kiosks much like the ones that dot the National Mall.
The county permits street vendors to sell their goods from moveable carts or card tables, but officials are considering allowing permanent, built-in-the-ground kiosks for selling such items as flowers, coffee, food or newspapers and magazines.
The proposal also would allow food trucks to linger on public streets for up to an hour.
Currently, Arlington’s ice cream, taco, pupusa and other food trucks are limited to five minutes in one spot.
“We’re looking for a way to further enliven our street activity,” Arlington Economic Development planner Jill Griffin said. “A more permanent structure would allow our vendors to operate more frequently and to be able to provide more goods and services to the public.”
The kiosks would be no larger than 150 square feet and would be limited to publicly accessible plazas or parks that are at least 5,000 square feet.
They could be used as “news or magazine stands, takeout food stands, candy stands, flower stands, information booths, ticket sales or other similar uses,” according to county documents.
Griffin said some of the food or coffee kiosks could be surrounded by seating.
Street vendors are much harder to find in Arlington than in the tourist-flooded streets of downtown Washington.
The county’s proposal would require the permanent-kiosk vendors to operate at least eight hours a day for 275 days a year.
County staff already are talking with the property owner at 3033 Wilson Blvd. about building a kiosk in the large plaza there and have identified sites near the Ballston Metrorail station that could house vendors, Griffin said.
The county is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the proposal in July.
