On March 1, the San Diego City Council voted 8-1 in favor of an ordinance to regulate sidewalk vending and establish penalties for non-compliance.

Councilmember Vivian Moreno cast the dissenting vote.

“Many street vendors are mom-and-pop businesses with lots of immigrants, new Americans, and people of color,” said Moreno of District 8. “Unfortunately, the ordinance is overly broad and not specific enough. It goes beyond what is required by SB 946. I’m also concerned about there being uneven enforcement, where vendors would be heavily enforced in some areas, while in some areas they would not be.”

Authored by District 2 Councilmember Dr. Jennifer Campbell’s office, the new ordinance will take effect 30 days after final passage by the City Council. All sidewalk vendors will have until June 1 to either cease vending activity or comply with the ordinance’s provisions.

“Tenemos una ordenanza que hace que la Ciudad cumpla con la SB 946 que entró en vigencia en 2019 y trae a los vendedores a la economía formal”, dijo Campbell. “Esta ordenanza establece requisitos y brinda claridad legal para los vendedores que desean cumplir con las reglas y tener negocios exitosos mientras protegen la salud pública, la seguridad y los espacios públicos”.

“SB 946 decriminalized sidewalk vending and established requirements for local regions to regulate them,” Campbell chief-of-staff Venus Molina told the council. “The ordinance applies to special events, swap meets, farmers markets, and shoreline parks. These regulations must be directly related to public health, safety, or welfare. There are distance requirements between vendors and a prohibition of vending in high-traffic pedestrian areas. Vendors must obtain a vending permit. No insurance is required and the permit would be renewed annually.”

The new ordinance requires vendors to be 15 feet apart from one another, 50-feet from major transit stops, and 100 feet from sidewalks or street enclosures.

La aplicación de la nueva ordenanza de venta ambulante requiere advertencias y remisiones en la primera infracción, multas de $200 para vendedores sin permisos y $500 para aquellos con permisos por una segunda infracción, multas de $500 para vendedores sin permisos y $1,000 para aquellos con permisos para una tercera infracción y multas de $500 y/o incautación de equipos de venta por infracciones posteriores para aquellos sin permisos de venta y multas de $1,000 y/o incautación de equipos para vendedores con permisos.

“Today’s action is an important step in establishing sensible rules and regulations and allows us to comply with SB 946 and help those who want to become entrepreneurs,” concluded Campbell before moving passage of the sidewalk vending ordinance.

Testifying on March 1, Denny Knox, executive director for Ocean Beach MainStreet Association, said: “We support this long-awaited vending ordinance. SB 946 has had a huge impact on our community and the health, safety, and welfare of everyone around. We have been sounding the alarm for the need for a vending ordinance for over three years. Enforcement is a huge thing for us. We hope you will make sure this ordinance gets enforced.”

“We feel street vending takes up park space leaving less space for San Diegans,” testified Andrea Schlageter, chair of Ocean Beach Planning Board. “Vendors get to use that space for free. Don’t put private enterprise over public access and public space.”

“This is mainly a coastal-access issue,” agreed Ocean Beach Planning Board vice chair Kevin Hastings. “Our park spaces are a year-round draw for residents and visitors for these areas. Any commercial operation in these parks really needs to be very limited, and only in very specific, designated locations. Enforcement should be taken seriously. Code enforcement and park rangers are completely unequipped to handle this.”

“Esta ordenanza afecta a nuestros vecindarios para las microempresas y nuestras tiendas físicas, y es un desafío negociar mientras permite que las microempresas prosperen de manera segura”, dijo Joe LaCava, concejal del Distrito 1. “Estamos logrando múltiples objetivos al despenalizar la venta ambulante mientras reducimos las barreras para que las pequeñas empresas operen y tomen posesión, y sentamos las bases para un crecimiento exitoso. Resolver este problema ha sido una prioridad para mi distrito”.

LaCava asked for and was granted, an amendment to the new vending ordinance to include sections of Coast Boulevard above Children’s Pool and the boardwalk in Scripps Park in La Jolla as shoreline park areas deserving of inclusion as high-traffic pedestrian areas where sidewalk vending is prohibited. He was unsuccessful however by a 5-4 vote in having the summer moratorium prohibiting sidewalk vending extended from Labor Day to Oct. 1 to accommodate later-summer beach crowds.

Council President Pro-tem Monica Montgomery Steppe of District 4 was successful in amending the vending ordinance to allow impoundment of vendor equipment only in cases of extreme violations of the new ordinance. She expressed worry that vendors could be deprived of their ability to do business for minor offenses.

STREET VENDORS LIMITED

The new ordinance establishes both permitting and law enforcement processes for street vending, while limiting vendors from operating in these parts of the City:

– Sports Arena Boulevard entre Hancock Street y East Drive durante eventos y días de juego.

– Within 500 feet of special events, swap meets and farmer’s markets

– En Balboa Park, Mission Bay Park, Presidio Park, Belmont Park y Shoreline Parks en las comunidades de Ocean Beach, Mission Beach, Pacific Beach y La Jolla durante la moratoria de construcción de verano anual de la Ciudad.

– Calles 4, 5 y 6 entre Broadway Avenue y Harbor Drive en el centro.

– India Street entre Ash Street y West Kalmia Street en Little Italy.

– Avenida San Diego entre Twiggs Street y Conde Street en Old Town.

– Varias cuadras en East Village.

– Calles cercanas al Centro de Convenciones durante una convención o evento.

– 6th Avenue through 14th Street between Market Street, Harbor Drive and Commercial Street during events and game days.