Reaction to a new sidewalk-vending ordinance authored by District 2 Councilmember Dr. Jennifer Campbell charging vendors $38 annually, approved May 17 by the City Council and set to begin in mid-June, has been intense.

City staff had originally recommended that the new vending permit fee be $230 per year, the same as a City business tax certificate. But that amount was decreased by City Council members, fearing it might harm those it was intended to help, along with the proviso that staff would do an analysis after one year to determine if any fee modifications are necessary.

“Enforcement will be handled mostly by Neighborhood Code Enforcement personnel and park rangers,” said City spokesperson José Ysea of the new street-vending ordinance adding, “Maps for the ‘designated’ areas where vendors are to be allowed are still being developed. They should be coming soon.”

Bob Evans, president of La Jolla Parks & Beaches, Inc., was not happy with the end result of the ordinance.

“It was the expected and typical business that is done by the City Council when there were a few amendments to be added from the first passing and discussions in March,” said Evans, who pointed out that, while enforcement in Balboa Park and Downtown are to begin in mid-June, that is not true of beach communities.

“Beach communities will still require California Coastal Commission approval of new City ordinances,” Evans said adding, “There’s no agenda set yet with the Coastal Commission. I’ve heard guesses of at least a few months, and well past summer, as to when the Coastal Commission can review (the vending ordinance). Thus, sidewalk vending should be continuing as business as usual for vendors, and continued out of control at all the coastal areas.”

Added Evans: “At Scripps Park/La Jolla Cove and Children’s Pool, it’s as busy and jammed as ever with more vendors overwhelming the area. And as we get into summer, I expect the scenic and natural beauty of the coastline parks and boardwalks to be completely unrecognizable with the sidewalk vendors taking over and no enforcement happening.”

Sidewalk vendors in Mission and Pacific beaches had a different take on the City Council’s new vending rules. While they felt the rules are necessary, those interviewed learned that the new ordinance would prohibit vending in those areas during the summer months, something they all took issue with.

“We don’t like some of the vendor rules, however, it needs to be implemented,” said RV dwellers Tawny and Michael White of Ocean Beach, who were selling their homemade incense from their booth named Laddy’s & Lassy’s House of Fragrances, on May 21 on the boardwalk in Mission Beach. “We had to jump through hoops to get a business license.”

“What I don’t like about it (ordinance) is there are only certain times of the year you’re able to sell,” said Michael White. “How can you promote entrepreneurship if you can’t sell your products? We’re just trying to make a living.”

“They (City) want us out between Memorial Day and Labor day, not [Mission Beach], not in any beach in the San Diego area, and not on any San Diego streets,” said Tawny White.

“We don’t mind paying a (vendor) fee, we’ve been doing it everywhere we’ve been,” said Michael White, who suffers from respiratory ailments.

“This is the first city, town, or state we’ve been in that wasn’t regulated (for vending),” noted Tawny White, adding they’ve traveled through and sold in, several states over the past few months.

Do the Whites think the new vending ordinance and its enforcement will make things better for vendors?

“I doubt it,” said Michael White.

“I don’t like the fact that they’re going to regulate what time of year we can set up,” said Tawny White. “June, July, and August, that’s someone’s busiest time. That could hold us through the winter.”

The circumstances were much different for another vendor on the boardwalk in Mission Beach, Andrew Zander representing G-Code Designs. He’s been vending for six years at Kobey’s and other swap meets and in Mission Beach and elsewhere along the coast. Zander and his business partner, Ariana Paige, do digitized canvas prints of original colored pencil drawings of famous people, typically in sports and music. Their artwork sells in the $15 to $200 range.

“To us, the ordinance is moot because we have all our documentation, business license, and permits, everything like that,” Zander said. “We’re prepared and we’re ready.”

Is Mission Beach a good place for vendors?

“MB is a beautiful place, the park is right here, the roller coaster,” said Zander. “And the vendors are really awesome too. It’s kind of a community that’s built up around here.”

Zander was not opposed to the City’s new vending ordinance. “Laws and rules always make sense to me,” he said. “We like to follow them.”

But Zander would just as soon be plying his wares at a farmers market or a swap meet rather than on the boardwalk or on the street. “We really enjoy farmers markets and swap meets because they’ve got security and your space is ‘this’ space,” he said. “But here (boardwalk), it’s first-come, first-served. Nobody pays for these spots. And no one’s owed these spots.”

On the boardwalk in Pacific Beach near Crystal Pier, PB residents Albert Garcia and his business partner and fiancee, Kaylee Vaughn, were busy selling their handmade jewelry – rings, necklaces, bracelets, and earrings. Their homegrown business started out as a hobby but has morphed into a full-time occupation.

“We both lost our jobs due to COVID and we needed money, and we decided to come out here and give it a try,” Garcia said. “[Vending] has made it so we can afford rent and food again.”

Noting they’re typically on the PB boardwalk four or five days a week, Vaughn pointed out she didn’t agree with the City’s proposed summer “moratorium” on street vending.

“That’s when we make all our money,” she said. “There are three to four million people that come through here during those months. It’s our busiest time and I just feel like that’s really unfair. I know they’re trying to make everybody happy. I just think that we should be able to be here year-round, as long as we have all the information and the paperwork that we’re supposed to have.”

“It’s only a certain small percentage of the year that they don’t want us out here, and it’s during the busiest time of the year,” said Garcia, who pointed out they’re not reselling merchandise, like some, but rather making their own jewelry, which is qualitatively different than similar merchandise sold elsewhere by brick-and-mortar businesses.

“We’re trying to make this into something where we can become a brick and mortar someday,” Garcia said while adding, “We’ll adapt.”

PERMITTING REQUIREMENTS FOR SIDEWALK VENDORS

• A sidewalk vending permit from the Office of the City Treasurer before conducting vending business activities in the City, valid for one year and reviewed annually.

• Vending is prohibited during the summer moratorium – Saturday before Memorial Day and preceding Saturday and Sunday through Labor Day – in Balboa Park, Mission Bay Park, and shoreline parks – Newport Avenue between Abbott Street and Sunset Cliffs Boulevard in Ocean Beach, Ventura Place between Mission Boulevard and Ocean Front Walk in Mission Beach, Garnet Avenue between Ocean Front Walk and Cass Street in Pacific Beach, Coast Boulevard, between Cave Street and the 200 block of Coast Boulevard South, in La Jolla (pending the Coastal Commission approval).

• A City business tax certificate due annually.

• If applicable, sidewalk vendors must possess a valid, no-cost California Department of Tax and Fee Administration seller’s permit that designates “City of San Diego” as a location or sublocation. A seller’s permit allows sales tax collection from customers and reports those amounts to the state.

FOOD PRODUCT VENDORS ARE

• Required to obtain and display a San Diego County Public Health Permit at all times.

• Required to acquire a San Diego County Food Handler Card.