RICHMOND — Pop-up canopies, meat on spits and sizzling grill tops have popped up on Richmond sidewalks and parking lots, being met with both lines of hungry customers and warnings from officials to leave. Now, the city is working to regulate the small businesses but exactly when the new rules will begin remains unclear.
The new policy just took effect and is supposed to outline the size and type of footprint a food vendor can have on Richmond sidewalks, as well as help protect public health and institute a city permitting process.
Also in the works is a Mobile Vendor Plaza Program which would give vendors access to a designated lot and other city-backed resources like tables, restrooms and lighting multiple times a week.
The proposal is intended to strike a balance between the needs of street vendors trying to make a living and local merchants concerned about the unregulated competition, Vice Mayor Claudia Jimenez said at a recent council meeting.
Rather than telling vendors, “I’m sorry, you can’t do business here and it’s your problem,” Jimenez said the ordinance provides a “comprehensive solution that has some enforcement” but also gives “some opportunity for street vendors to (operate) their business.”
Vendors and brick-and-mortar business owners have shared support for the new policy. Luzdary Leon Oquendo, a vendor who emigrated from Colombia with her husband and two children, said street vending is her only means of work and she’s eager to keep at it. Navigating and understanding the requirements to stay open has been challenging, she said, but she hopes the city initiative will improve that process.
“We want to work and progress, and we don’t want to be a weight to society. This is why we’ve been working really hard to create the means to sustain our family,” said Leon Oquendo, whose comments were translated from Spanish to English by Jimenez at a recent council meeting.
Oscar Garcia and Rigo Mendoza, both members of the 23rd Street Merchants Association, have also welcomed the new policy and said the organization had been lobbying the city on the issue for years, citing concerns about street vendors blocking sidewalks, taking up parking spaces and leaving behind waste.
Brick-and-mortar merchants also felt they were facing a double standard, Garcia said. While they were expected to acquire multiple permits, undergo an inspection and pay varying fees, taxes and overhead costs, seemingly rogue businesses were setting up shop right outside without much, if any, oversight.
“They identify with the street vendors. The merchants are also immigrants who came to this country with nothing and worked hard to build their businesses. They’re not trying to shut the door on someone else trying to establish their own businesses,” Garcia said. “At the same time, (street vendors) need to not interfere with the other businesses, at least not in a way that is significant.”
The new sidewalk vendor policy appeared to be the answer to their concerns. While it would help legitimize street vendors, it would also create standards and regulations, evening out the playing field.
Vendors that once blocked sidewalks will only be allowed in areas if there’s a four-foot clearance for passersby. They’d also have to be at least 5 feet away from the entrance of a brick-and-mortar business, though Garcia noted other jurisdictions set that distance at around 20 feet. Tables and chairs for dining would be prohibited, making vendor footprints smaller. Setting up in parking spaces, often a vital need for business patrons, would also be prohibited.
Permitted vendors who fail to comply with the ordinance would risk being fined $100 on their first infraction, $200 on the second and $500 for every following violation. Those without permits would face fines of $250 for the first violation, $500 for the second and $1,000 for each following violation.
The ordinance and related fee schedule was adopted in late June and took effect Aug. 2.
It appears fines won’t be issued right away. The Richmond City Council, concerned that the policy could impact vendors with tight profits, asked city workers to hold off on fining vendors until staff developed a hardship program, vendor outreach plan, and a process for tracking data, infractions, complaints and locations of vendors.
“For many people, this may be their primary source of income and I would hate to take that away from folks without giving them a fair opportunity to know what the new rules will be and a way for them to be in compliance,” Councilmember Doria Robinson said during a July 2 meeting.
The confusion over when enforcement measures will be implemented has left members of the 23rd Street Merchant Association feeling misled by city staff and councilmembers. Mendoza said the association is preparing to protest if their concerns aren’t taken seriously.
“We are frustrated because they don’t want to help us,” Mendoza said on Aug. 2. “We wanted to help them but they don’t want our help.”
By Aug. 3, an email from Councilmember Soheila Bana to the 23rd Street Merchants Association stated “the City Manager has taken actions” with enforcement slated to begin Aug. 5.
City staff did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Community Development Director Lina Velasco, speaking during a council meeting when the ordinance was being adopted, cautioned that all aspects of the new program would not likely be in place by Aug. 2. Implementing the ordinance will require outreach to businesses and vendors about the new city law, developing informational materials and organizing a team of staff to oversee the program.
Velasco also noted that the city faces enforcement limitations under S.B. 946, a 2018 law decriminalizing street vending. Jurisdictions are permitted to adopt street vending regulations but outright bans would be in violation of state law. The city’s ordinance also doesn’t call for confiscating equipment from vendors who violate the city’s policy, but City Manger Shasa Curl noted the Contra Costa County Health and Human Services Department could still do so if public safety was at risk.
Joel Hernandez, a 24-year-old vendor originally from Mexico City, worries the new rules could hurt business, but he hopes having a permit would make operating in the city easier.
Hernandez spent the past six years selling traditional Mexican food in Los Angeles before moving with a group of nine to Northern California about four months ago to try their business out on the streets of Richmond. The experience has been mixed, he said.
Food has sold well at the two stands, one located on Cutting Boulevard and the other further down 23rd Street, with both selling out of its al pastor daily and a steady stream of customers lining up on weekends. But the booth on 23rd Street has had to move multiple times after being confronted by police officers and they’ve faced threats of having their equipment confiscated, Hernandez said.
Preparing dishes from his home country has become Hernandez’s passion and he’d like to continue sharing his offerings in Richmond, he said.
“If we don’t work, we don’t get paid,” Hernandez said through a translator. “If everything works, we’ll stay. We came here to stay.”
