RICHMOND — Pop-up canopies, meat skewers and sizzling griddles have popped up on Richmond’s sidewalks and parking lots, prompting 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 take effect is still unclear.
The new policy, which just went into effect, is designed to establish the size and type of space a food vendor can leave on Richmond’s sidewalks, as well as help protect public health and initiate a city permitting process.
Additionally, a Mobile Vendor Plaza program is being planned that would provide vendors with access to designated parking and other city-supported resources such as tables, restrooms and lighting several times a week.
The proposal is intended to strike a balance between the needs of street vendors seeking to make a living and local merchants concerned about unregulated competition, Vice Mayor Claudia Jimenez said at a recent council meeting.
Instead of telling vendors, “I’m sorry, you can’t do business here, that’s your problem,” Jimenez said the ordinance offers a “comprehensive solution that provides some enforcement” but also “gives street vendors the opportunity to operate their businesses.”
Merchants and shop owners support the new regulation. Luzdary Leon Oquendo, a merchant who emigrated from Colombia with her husband and two children, said street vending is her only source of income and she is determined to stick with it. Navigating and understanding the requirements to stay open has been a challenge, she said, but she hopes the city’s initiative will improve that process.
“We want to work and get ahead and we don’t want to be a burden on society. That’s why we’ve worked really hard to create the means to support 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, also welcomed the new rule. They said their organization has been lobbying the city on the issue for years because of concerns about street vendors blocking sidewalks, taking up parking spaces and leaving trash.
Brick-and-mortar retailers also felt they faced a double standard, Garcia said. While they were expected to obtain multiple permits, undergo inspection and pay various fees, taxes and overhead, seemingly rogue businesses opened up shop right outside the door with little to no oversight.
“They identify with the street vendors. The vendors are also immigrants who came to this country with nothing and have worked hard to build their businesses. They don’t want to close the door to anyone trying to build their own business,” Garcia said. “At the same time, (street vendors) must not disrupt the other businesses, at least not in any significant way.”
The new sidewalk regulation seemed to be the answer to their concerns. While it would give legitimacy to street vendors, it would also create standards and regulations that would ensure more equal opportunities.
Vendors, who once blocked sidewalks, would be restricted to areas where pedestrians are kept 4 feet apart. They would also have to be at least 5 feet away from the entrance of a brick-and-mortar business, although Garcia noted that other jurisdictions set that distance at about 20 feet. Tables and chairs for eating would be prohibited, reducing the amount of space vendors need. Setting up in parking lots, often a vital need for business customers, would also be prohibited.
Licensed dealers who fail to comply with the ordinance face a fine of $100 for the first violation, $200 for the second, and $500 for each subsequent violation. Unlicensed dealers face a fine of $250 for the first violation, $500 for the second, and $1,000 for each subsequent violation.
The regulation and the associated fee schedule were adopted at the end of June and came into force on August 2nd.
It looks like fines won’t be issued immediately. The Richmond City Council, concerned that the policy could hit merchants with tight profits, asked city staff to wait to issue fines to merchants until staff developed a hardship program, a plan to contact merchants, and a process to track merchants’ data, violations, complaints, and locations.
“For a lot of people, this may be their primary source of income and I would hate to take that source away from people without giving them a fair chance to learn about the new rules and give them a way to comply with them,” Council Member Doria Robinson said during a July 2 meeting.
Confusion about when the enforcement measures will be implemented has left members of the 23rd Street Merchant Association feeling misled by staff and city councilors. Mendoza said the association is preparing for protests if their concerns are not taken seriously.
“We are frustrated because they don’t want to help us,” Mendoza said on August 2. “We wanted to help them, but they don’t want our help.”
An August 3 email from Councilwoman Soheila Bana to the 23rd Street Merchants Association stated, “The City Manager has taken action” and enforcement should begin August 5.
City officials did not respond to several requests for comment.
Community Development Director Lina Velasco warned during a council meeting when the ordinance was passed that not all aspects of the new program are expected to be implemented by August 2. Implementing the ordinance will require educating businesses and merchants 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 SB 946, a 2018 law that decriminalizes street vending. Jurisdictions are allowed to enact street vending regulations, but an outright ban would violate state law. The city’s ordinance also does not allow for confiscating equipment from vendors who violate city policies, but City Manager Shasa Curl noted that 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 street vendor from Mexico City, fears the new regulations could hurt his business but hopes a permit would make it easier for him to do business in the city.
Hernandez sold traditional Mexican food in Los Angeles for the past six years before moving to Northern California with a group of nine people about four months ago to try their business on the streets of Richmond. The experience has been mixed, he says.
At the two stands, one on Cutting Boulevard and the other further down 23rd Street, the food sold well. Both stands sold out of al pastor daily and had a steady stream of customers in line on weekends. But the 23rd Street stand had to move several times after being attacked by police and threatened to confiscate its equipment, Hernandez said.
Preparing dishes from his home country has become Hernandez’s passion and he wants to continue offering his dishes in Richmond, he said.
“If we don’t work, we don’t get paid,” Hernandez said through an interpreter. “If everything works out, we’ll stay. We came here to stay.”
