The City Council recently voted 6-0 to support municipal code amendments to the City’s Sidewalk Vending Ordinance addressing concerns about commercial and expressive activities on public property including beachfront boardwalks.
The amendments are meant to fine-tune and more clearly define the City’s sidewalk SVO, spelling out which First Amendment activities are allowed, and which are not.
In introducing SVO amendments, which her office introduced and was passed by the City Council in March 2022, Councilmember Jennifer Campbell, whose District 2 includes Mission Beach, said: “We’ve heard from constituents, stakeholders, and vendors themselves for the need to provide stronger enforcement, and these amendments mean to create an environment where permitted vendors can continue to thrive and provide valuable services to our residents.
“The amendments also create a balance between protecting Constitutional rights, like free speech, and maintaining public order in our communities based on public health and safety.”
“This has been long overdue,” noted Campbell’s chief of staff Venus Molina, during her City Council presentation outlining amendments changing some of the legal rules sidewalk vendors must follow.
Concerning why the amendments are necessary, Molina pointed out problems that have emerged with people claiming First Amendment protections who weren’t entitled to them.
“We wanted to make sure that the folks who are protected have First Amendment rights, and the folks who are not complying with the law have consequences (for non-conformance),” said Molina.
She added: “However, in the past year, unpermitted vendors have found ways to work around this ordinance. Therefore we recognize the need to revisit and amend the San Diego Municipal Code to address the concerns with sidewalk vending, and to accommodate expressive activity as well, ensuring proper enforcement, which began in June 2022.”
Following the Feb. 13 City Council SVO hearing, the Coastal Coalition representing beachfront businesses weighed in on the City Council’s unanimous favorable decision.
“The Coastal Coalition appreciates the changes that were made to the Sidewalk Vending Ordinance that address with more clarity what compromises expressive activity, and the changes that were made to clarify and enhance enforcement of the ordinance by both park rangers and SDPD,” said the Coalition in a letter. “However, for these changes to significantly protect our shoreline parks and beaches and to prevent unneeded confusion, it is imperative that your office take action to designate the number and location of ‘Designated Expressive Activity Zones’ in the beach communities.”
The Coastal Coalition requested that such DEAZs “be in place when the changes in the ordinance go into effect in the next month.” The Coastal Coalition added that, per negotiations between City government, the Parks Department, and stakeholders, the number of agreed upon DEAZs will be “two in Ocean Beach, three in Mission Beach, two in Pacific Beach, and no more than four in La Jolla.”
Children’s Pool in La Jolla, a popular sidewalk vending spot, is proposed to not have a DEAZ “due to the congestive configuration, safety concerns, and the need for unfettered access by emergency vehicles and personnel.”
“We also request that there be a clarification made to the statement that vending is allowed in the coastal zone outside of the summer moratorium,” continued the Coastal Coalition’s letter. “Vending is prohibited year-round in all beach high-traffic areas such as Ocean Front Walk in Mission Beach, Pacific Beach, and La Jolla and areas such as Veterans Park, Mission Beach Park, and Kellogg Park. If the DEAZs and the clarification of the statement that vending is allowed outside of the summer moratorium are not in place when the changes to the ordinance go into effect, then confusion may reign with the vendor communities and with those in charge of enforcement.”
SIDEWALK VENDING ORDINANCE AMENDMENTS
In 2019, a state law decriminalized sidewalk vending and mandated that cities develop a regulatory program that allows micro-entrepreneurs to operate. San Diego’s SVO regulations allow vendors to do business while protecting local parks, beaches, and business districts from overcrowding and health and safety issues. The law partially bans sidewalk vendors where they block pedestrian rights of way and institutes a moratorium on vending during the busy summer months in Balboa Park and shoreline parks and beaches.
The SVO makes the Gaslamp a no-vending zone year-round and beach areas no-vending zones from Memorial Day to Labor Day. The new impound rules eliminate warnings for first offenses and move directly to fines and impounding. A first offense is now $100 for someone with a vendor permit and $250 for someone without one. Criteria for impounding include failing to provide identification, failing to remove sale items that violate city rules, blocking pedestrian pathways, creating unsanitary or unsafe conditions, and not having a health permit, vending permit, or business license.
