Nights of Lights festivalgoers may notice fewer sidewalk vendors in downtown St. Augustine when the event returns Nov. 14.
July Fourth celebration attendees also may notice the change.
The St. Augustine City Commission unanimously approved a mobile vendor restrictions ordinance April 14 on its first reading.
Currently, mobile vendors are not allowed to set up on St. George Street from Orange Street to U.S. 1. Side streets including Treasury, Hypolita and Cuna are also off-limits.
The new rules add the western sidewalk of Avenida Menendez, which faces the Matanzas River from Orange Street to King Street at the foot of the Bridge of Lions, during Nights of Lights. On July Fourth, its eastern sidewalk will also be restricted.
Vendors will also be prohibited on the two blocks of Cathedral Place.
If enacted at the second reading of the ordinance, the restrictions will become part of the city code.
There was no public comment.
Vice Mayor Barbara Blonder, who proposed March 10 to significantly shorten Nights of Lights by eliminating its January dates, proposed restricting the eastern sidewalk of Avenida Menendez — not just for July Fourth, but for the festival as well.
She said that during last year’s festival, she noticed the eastern and western sidewalks along Avenida Menendez were equally crowded. She said the western sidewalk is too narrow and dangerous for pedestrians if mobile vendors are allowed to operate there.
“It’s a recipe for trouble,” she said.
City Attorney Isabelle Lopez said she did not have enough data to confidently include the eastern sidewalk.
The commission said it would support Lopez conducting more research so the restriction could be considered for inclusion at the second reading.
The tightened mobile vendor rules follow a Feb. 20 commission meeting, when City Manager David Birchim presented data on public safety, traffic and pedestrian congestion impacts associated with the 2024-25 Nights of Lights.
At that time, the commission instructed Lopez to draft an updated mobile vendor restrictions policy for consideration.
She reminded the commission that public sidewalks are deemed a “public forum under U.S. law.”
“And so your restrictions have to be directly related to a substantial public interest, and they can be no more than is necessary to address a specific problem area,” she said.
“Those are the legal parameters that have to be followed when creating restrictions on prohibitions — even for commercial speech.”
She added that commercial speech, including mobile vending, is less protected than First Amendment free speech.
On March 24, the commission voted to shorten the Nights of Lights holiday festival by five days compared with last year.
The festival will run 57 days, from Nov. 15, 2025, through Jan. 11, 2026. The dates are in effect for one year.
The vote was 3-2, with Mayor Nancy Sikes-Kline and Commissioners Jim Springfield and Jon DePreter supporting the dates.
Blonder, who said she would not support any new dates other than the ones she proposed, and Commissioner Cynthia Garris both voted to oppose them.