City officials are drafting an ordinance that regulates sidewalk vending in a way that is consistent with state law.
The Gilroy City Council took a look at the ordinance on July 10, but agreed more work needs to be done. Another meeting will be held this month to hammer out the details.
Senate Bill 946, which went into effect in 2019, legalized sidewalk vending. Through the law, cities can require a permit or license and mandate other standards, but they cannot restrict vendors to a specific area unless it is necessary to protect the “public’s health, safety or welfare.”
Jon Biggs of Gilroy’s Community Development Department said, under the draft ordinance, vendors, defined as those who sell food or merchandise, would be required to obtain a sidewalk vending permit through the city after they have already received a health permit through the county and a city business license. They must also provide liability insurance and workers’ compensation, among other requirements.
Vendors must also not block sidewalks or entrances to businesses, and need to clean up after themselves, among the standards laid out in the ordinance.
The fees for obtaining sidewalk vending permits are still undetermined, and some councilmembers suggested having a reduced fee for vendors who reside in Gilroy.
Biggs said a public workshop held in early June drew nearly 60 people which included sidewalk vendors as well as business and property owners. Many said they supported sidewalk vending if it didn’t impact neighboring businesses, while some stated they wanted easy-to-understand regulations.
At the July 10 council meeting, Armando Ricardez, director of the Mesa Redonda Roundtable in San Jose, said the organization recently offered an eight-week program to help street food vendors through the steps of becoming a business. The vendors, he said, want the “opportunity to become a viable business,” and many have started out as street vendors before working their way to a brick-and-mortar business.
“Giving them the opportunity to make themselves a legitimate business is a great opportunity for the city to generate new business,” Ricardez said. “These are people who want to become business owners.”
Downtown property owner David Leal said he was frustrated with vendors setting up on his properties, citing two instances when a vendor “set up a full-on barbecue with picnic tables” at 9:30pm. The vendor reportedly told responding police officers that they would leave in “an hour and a half.”
“That’s a slap in the face to me, a slap in the face to the city and the police department, because in an hour and a half the city shuts down,” Leal said, suggesting the city set specific areas where vendors can operate.
Biggs noted that the city is unable to require vendors to operate in a certain area due to the state law, or require them to obtain permission from a business.
Councilmember Dion Bracco said more work needs to be done on the ordinance, including meeting with downtown business owners to gain their feedback. He also questioned how the ordinance would be enforced if adopted.
Councilmember Tom Cline agreed that the ordinance is “not quite there yet,” and encouraged vendors to be mindful of where they set up and how they operate.
“The challenges that we have are real and are happening in downtown right now,” he said. “To the vendors, I say be responsible with what you’re doing and what you’re leaving behind when you leave that spot. It’s tough on the business owners and on the property owners when they are left with stuff that isn’t desirable.”
Mayor Marie Blankley suggested the council and city staff make changes to the existing draft ordinance, rather than starting over and holding another series of meetings to gather input.
The ordinance should state a specific distance between where the vendor is operating and the entrance and exit to a business, among the changes requested by the council. In addition, vendors that operate with a generator or cause smoke should also be a certain distance away from a brick-and-mortar restaurant with outdoor seating, the council suggested.
The council also agreed to hold a public study session in July for further input.
The ordinance is slated to come back to the council for consideration on Aug. 7.
Sidewalk vending…giving Gilroy the look and feel of every 3rd world country.
It’s a nuisance. More than the stationary ones over the ice cream man. The people at Mantelli/Wren and Uvas/8th cause so many traffic issues with people stopping right in the middle of the road to get out and buy stuff-PD should ticket them too.