The mom-and-pop street vendors — the paleteros, the eloteros, the ladies selling fruits from rolling carts — all good.
But those other street vendors from outside Santa Ana, who set up big red tents on sidewalks without the needed permits to sell tacos and other hot foods, are bad for the city, according to local officials.
On that, the Santa Ana City Council agreed on Tuesday night. But councilmembers differed on what approach to take next following an influx of unpermitted taco stands in the city.
In a 5-2 vote, the council majority adopted a resolution that urges state legislators to amend two laws relating to street vendors, seeking more local control. The resolution asks legislators to amend the laws to give local jurisdictions “the right of self-determination” to enact their own regulations, including rules to maintain sanitary conditions on city sidewalks.
In the resolution, city officials say they want changes to legislation that decriminalized street vending across California as of January 2019, and to another bill that took effect this year, making it easier for smaller vendors to obtain local health permits by, among other things, revising equipment requirements.
The resolution blames the laws for a rise in street vendors — including those selling “food deemed unfit for human consumption” — and who block sidewalks and hinder people with disabilities from using sidewalks, posing a danger to the public’s health and safety.
“The Bills have eliminated key food health and safety requirements intended to keep food safe for public consumption, such as water requirements and handwashing stations, and prohibit the regulation of where food vendors can be located,” the resolution reads in part.
Related: What do Orange County restaurant health inspectors really do?
Sen. Lena Gonzalez who authored Senate Bill 972, the legislation pertaining to health permits for smaller vendors, said the new law “reduces barriers to obtaining a…
Read the full article here
