Vendors from Vehicles work with Santa Barbara on New Ordinance Guidelines
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - New rules on vending from a vehicle in Santa Barbara could be in place soon.
The Ordinance Committee has reviewed the latest guidelines proposed by the city staff and is still working on some areas. Mainly it will regulate the time and places where vending can take place. It will also make sure health and safety is a priority.
Noe Vargas and his family own El Pastorcito, a food truck set up around town by day and at night in the parking lot of Tri-County Produce. "We just want to be able to have a pathway to make a living, that's the bottom line to make a living to pay the bills."
Many of the vendors are serving food items, and at least one has a retail truck.
Vargas said, "I think this can be helpful to be able to provide for the different operators."
The truck operators already need special health and business permits, but they could see their hours of operations restricted along with the flashy displays. Those lights help to attract customers, but can also be a distraction in some neighborhoods.
The Ordinance Committee is refining a proposed set of rules and that could remedy any negative impacts on the surrounding areas.
These would only be for trucks on city streets, not in private parking lots.
Santa Barbara City Councilman, Oscar Gutierrez, said he wants to see the food trucks and "we don't necessarily need to add more regulations to these."
"Mobile food vendors we just need to tell them to move these tables, don't play loud music, turn off these bright lights. We don't have to make it harder for them because it is hard enough as it is."
Among the concerns are tables and chairs on the sidewalk blocking access for those who are mobility challenged. Some of the trucks also have light displays outside of the vehicle.
The proposed ordinance has some time limits now. It's 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. but there's been suggestions to allow some flexibility to have those trucks set up.
Before 7 a.m. for the early morning risers, and after 10 p.m. for those that are out late.
Vargas says, "even in the early morning, they want to have a breakfast burrito or something before that 7 o'clock."
One popular location is Milpas Street on any given night but especially after concerts at the bowl.
"Everybody kind of floods down and they empty out to Milpas. Sometimes the concerts end past 10 p.m. and some times a lot of food spots in the area are closed," said Vargas.
The council is aware of the food truck popularity, but separates these licensed businesses from illegal pop-up kitchens.
Gutierrez says, "it adds to the economic diversity of our community and to impose more regulations on permitted businesses I don't think it is fair."
"We have this overlying issues of the unpermitted street vendors. The real issue is the unpermitted vendors. They are causing multiple pedestrian hazards, traffic hazards, health hazards . That is the really issue we need to address."
The next discussion and a vote will take place at a future City Council meeting.
The city's staff has been contacting the vendors and meeting with some one on one to refine some of the wording in the ordinance and hear their suggestions.