Sidewalk vendors have proliferated since the pandemic in Oceanside, where the City Council approved new penalties Wednesday in an effort to curb what some said has become a public health problem.
“This is a very important issue for us,” said Kim Heim, of the downtown business group MainStreet Oceanside. “We have been combatting illegal vending downtown for close to four years.”
Many of the vendors have no business license, no health permits and no food-handling training, Heim said. When contacted, they offered no name, no address and no identification.
“These are people that operate in the shadows of business, and yet they put our public at risk,” he said. “We really need to control this.”
Kirk Mundt, the city’s code enforcement manager, said downtown sidewalk vending has become “a free-for-all” that needs more regulation.
At Mundt’s request, the council unanimously approved an updated ordinance to establish fines and allow the immediate confiscation of equipment when necessary. The council will review the updated ordinance again in a few weeks and, if approved a second time, it will take effect 30 days after that.
Vendors have been selling hot dogs heated with a propane grill on the Oceanside pier even though vending is prohibited there, Mundt said. When asked to leave, the operators will go, but often return the next day.
The vendors usually have no refrigeration, no water for hand washing, and no easy access to restroom facilities, he said.
“We have found, especially recently, an influx of vendors … coming from other cities,” he said. Some are from Vista or as far as Los Angeles, and they operate without the required licenses.
Complaints also have been heard from restaurant owners and operators in downtown brick-and-mortar buildings that the vendors unfairly undermine their business.
Under the city’s existing ordinance, there are no penalties for violations and food vending equipment can be impounded only after it has been left unattended for more than 30 minutes.
The amended ordinance sets a penalty of $100 or more for violations. It also allows the city to impound equipment immediately and revoke the owner’s vending license.
“Our intent is to issue at least two additional written warnings in English and in Spanish before impounding any equipment,” Mundt said, although in some cases, such as vendors grilling hot dogs on the pier, equipment could be taken immediately.
“Things have really gotten out of hand, especially at the pier,” said Mayor Esther Sanchez.
“People have no right to be on the pier selling food with open flames and no permit,” she said.
“My big concern is the health issue,” said Councilmember Rick Robinson, adding that the $61 fee charged for impounding equipment seemed “a little light.” Mundt said the fee could be adjusted upward.
Councilmember Jimmy Figueroa said the issue is “a sensitive topic” for him because he fondly remembers buying shaved ice and other treats from Oceanside street vendors as a child.
“There are folks just trying to make ends meet,” Figueroa said, and he encouraged city staffers to work with partners such as MainStreet or MiraCosta College on programs to educate street vendors and improve their services.
Council members also suggested there should be an easy way to allow legal sidewalk sales for special events or nonprofit fundraisers.
Oceanside has issued a total of 10 sidewalk vending licenses, of which five allow food sales, according to a city report. Others sell crafts, clothing, flowers and jewelry.
Street musicians and other “buskers” are not addressed in the ordinance and are not required to obtain a permit, a city official said.
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