Did you know??

Senate Bill 946 – Safe Sidewalk Vending Act became effective January 1, 2019 and requires local agencies (including charter cities) to adopt regulations governing sidewalk vending or amend existing regulations.

Here are three essential changes your agency must be aware of:

1. California cities cannot ban vending in parks.
2. Cities cannot determine where vendors can operate on sidewalks, unless there is a health, safety, or welfare concern.
3. Street vendors are no longer required to ask permission from adjacent businesses to operate.

Following are more details about SB 946. Before starting any changes, collaboration within organizational departments (such as Finance, Planning, Economic Development, City Clerk, Code Enforcement) is encouraged to increase community education, and properly implement or amend regulations, if needed. It’s also a great way to actively practice teamwork across departmental lines.

The Details

SB 946’s licensing guidelines encourages local governments to determine what works best within their community. It begins with prohibiting a local authority from adopting rules or regulations that regulate or prohibit sidewalk vendors unless it first adopts a sidewalk vending licensing program.

This program would require a sidewalk vendor to first obtain a license from the local agency before selling food or merchandise. For example, the program would specify what permits might be required for selling fresh fruit, ice cream, or hot dogs. And, if a street vendors violates the law, a local agency can fine the offenders, or repeal operating licenses.

SB 946 also prohibits restricting the location of a licensed sidewalk vendor unless the restriction is directly related to objective health, safety, or welfare concerns.

Following are the specific requirements that any sidewalk vending license or regulation must comply with:

• It can’t limit a sidewalk vendor to a specific part of the public right-of-way, except when the limitation is directly related to objective health, safety, or welfare concerns.
• It can’t limit a sidewalk vendor from selling food or merchandise in a park owned or operated by the local agency unless there is an existing concession agreement that grants the concessionaire exclusive right to sell food or merchandise.
• A local agency may adopt additional requirements regulating the time, place, and manner of sidewalk vending in parks if the requirements are: necessary to ensure the public’s use and enjoyment of natural resources and recreational opportunities; or necessary to prevent an undue concentration of commercial activity that unreasonably interferes with the scenic and natural character of the park.
• Can’t require a sidewalk vendor to get approval from a nearby business before the vendor can sell food or merchandise.
• Can’t restrict sidewalk vendors to designated neighborhoods or areas, except when the restriction is directly related to objective health, safety or welfare concerns.
• It can limit stationary sidewalk vendors in areas zoned exclusively residential where no commercial activity is permitted.
• Can’t limit roaming sidewalk vendors to sell in any area (commercial or residential).
• Can’t place a limit on the overall number of sidewalk vendors permitted to operate within the jurisdiction, unless the restriction is directly related to objective health, safety, or welfare concerns.

For some additional history about SB 946, see the League of California Cities bill summary issued in 2018.