U. rejects vending meeting without city councilwoman

University officials will not take part in a meeting, scheduled for tomorrow, designed to allow all parties to the vending controversy to hammer out a unified proposal. Instead, University officials want to negotiate a proposed ordinance regulating vending on and around campus only in the presence of Philadelphia Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, according to Vice President for Government, Community and Public Affairs Carol Scheman. "You can't do [vending] negotiating without Mrs. Blackwell there," Scheman said. "The ball is in her court." But Penn Consumer Alliance spokesperson Matthew Ruben said he expects the meeting, organized by his group and announced Monday, to be held as scheduled, with or without University officials' participation. No official decision has been made on whether to hold the meeting. Earlier this month, Blackwell called on the University, the PCA and the University City Vendors Alliance to submit to her a single proposal. The parties have clashed over specific terms of the ordinance. On Monday, the PCA called for an open meeting among representatives of the University, the UCVA and the PCA as well as groups representing students, faculty members and staff. The meeting, scheduled for 4:30 p.m. tomorrow in the Quadrangle's McClelland Hall, is geared toward creating a final proposal. The proposal would then be sent to Blackwell, who would introduce it to the City Council for debate and an eventual vote. The conflict between the University and vendor and consumer groups began last May when Penn submitted a proposal for an ordinance regulating vending to Blackwell. The community groups have sought to make the proposals less restrictive. Blackwell said yesterday she would organize a meeting with the three main groups involved in the conflict. The meeting would occur during "the next couple of weeks," she said. "We intend to meet with everyone and see what everyone has," Blackwell said. "Our goal is to make one final proposal." Ruben said his group "has no desire to go against Blackwell." PCA members felt that Blackwell's public statements encouraged someone to organize a meeting independent of her, according to Ruben, an English graduate student. "We stepped in and filled the breach," he said. As of last night, representatives from the Faculty Senate, the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly, the Undergraduate Assembly and a labor union had all told Ruben they would attend tomorrow's meeting. UCVA spokesperson Scott Goldstein said he is disappointed with the University's decision. "It's irresponsible, but the University has continually been irresponsible in this process," Goldstein said. "The people who really care about the issue will be at this meeting." University officials have sought to regulate vending on an around campus for several years, citing safety concerns and vendors' negative effect on Penn's ability to lure attractive retailers to the area. Although no vending plan has been finalized, the University will most likely begin construction on several of the five proposed fresh air food plazas, in particular the 40th Street location, soon, Scheman said. These designated areas will provide outdoor seating for customers, as well as electrical hook-ups, sewage and water lines and improved lighting for vendors at a cost of $1 per month for five years. If University officials are reasonably confident that City Council will enact an acceptable plan, Penn will begin construction within the next few weeks, Scheman said. "To be able to go ahead, we're in a position of having to take a lot of risk," Scheman said. "We have to believe there's enough support that something we want will resemble the final legislation." Officials hope the plazas will be done by the summer.

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