Barstow Municipal Code Ch. 5.40 Sidewalk Vending Permit

The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this chapter, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

Food means any type of edible substance or beverage.

Roaming sidewalk vendor means a sidewalk vendor who moves from place to place and stops only to complete a transaction.

Sidewalk vendor means a person who sells food or merchandise from a pushcart, stand, display, pedal-driven cart, wagon, showcase, rack, or other non-motorized conveyance, or from one's person, upon a public sidewalk or other paved public pedestrian path.

Stationary sidewalk vendor means a sidewalk vendor who vends from a fixed location.

(Ord. No. 959-2018U, § 1, 12-17-2018)

(a) Only sidewalk vendors with valid sidewalk vending permits issued by the community development department may vend upon the city's public sidewalk or other paved public pedestrian path.

(b) A sidewalk vending permit shall be valid for a period of one year from the date of issuance, unless sooner revoked or abandoned as set forth in this chapter. A sidewalk vending permit may be revoked for a violation of this chapter, pursuant to the procedures set forth in section 5.04.060.

(c) To apply for a sidewalk vending permit or a renewal of a sidewalk vending permit, the applicant must provide:

(1) A completed application form containing:

(A) Their name and mailing address;

(B) Description of the food or merchandise offered for sale or exchange;

(C) If the sidewalk vendor is an agent of an individual, company, partnership, or corporation, the name and business address of the principal and any owners of the company, partnership, or corporation; and

(D) Certification that the information is true to his or her knowledge and belief.

(2) A copy of a California's driver's license or identification number, an individual taxpayer identification number, or a social security number. Such information is not a public record and will remain confidential as required by Government Code Section 51038(c)(4).

(3) A copy of a valid California Department of Tax and Fee Administration seller's permit, as required.

(4) A copy of a valid mobile food permit issued by the San Bernardino County Department of Environmental Health Services, as required.

(d) To ensure the safety of residents and the merchantability of products sold by vendors without a fixed place of business, the city requires all sidewalk vending applicants to undergo a fingerprinting background check and to submit the results to the city as an attachment to their application.

(e) The sidewalk vending permit application shall require the applicant to agree, in writing, to comply with all the provisions of this chapter and all applicable provisions of the Barstow Municipal Code.

(Ord. No. 959-2018U, § 1, 12-17-2018)

(a) To maintain accessibility standards for the city's disabled residents, every sidewalk vendor operating on any sidewalk or public paved pedestrian path must ensure that no obstruction is placed in the sidewalk or public paved pedestrian path that would reduce the width of the sidewalk to less than 48 inches, exclusive of the top of the curb.

(b) To prevent food-borne illness and protect the health and safety of the city's residents, every sidewalk vendor selling any food or beverage is required to wear a hairnet and food service gloves.

(c) To prevent dangerous distractions and promote the general welfare of the city's residents, sidewalk vendors may not emit any loud, unnecessary and unusual noises exceeding the ambient noise level at the property line of any property by more than five decibels.

(d) A sidewalk vending permit does not provide an exclusive right to operate within any specific portion of the public sidewalk or paved pedestrian path.

(e) No equipment or objects used for sidewalk vending purposes may be left or maintained in public spaces or in any portion of the public right-of-way from 10:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. Any equipment or objects left overnight in public spaces or in any portion of the public right-of-way will be considered discarded and may be seized or disposed of by the city.

(f) To facilitate the enforcement of this chapter, every sidewalk vendor must display their city-issued sidewalk vending permit on the street-side portion of their pushcart, stand, display, pedal-driven cart, wagon, showcase, rack, or other non-motorized conveyance when operating in the public sidewalk or paved pedestrian path.

(g) To prevent unintended rolling or slipping, a sidewalk vendor is prohibited from operating a pushcart, pedal-driven cart, wagon, or other non-motorized conveyance on a public sidewalk or paved pedestrian path with a slope greater than five percent.

(h) No sidewalk vendor shall obstruct access to or from any business, entrance, public water fountain or other public facility, adjacent to the public sidewalk or paved pedestrian path.

(Ord. No. 959-2018U, § 1, 12-17-2018)

(a) Sidewalk vending hours' limitations in areas zoned for nonresidential use will be as restrictive as any limitations on hours of operation imposed on other businesses or uses on the same street, excluding those permitted to operate 24 hours.

(b) Sidewalk vending is limited to the hours of 9:00 a.m. through 5:00 p.m. for areas that are exclusively residential.

(c) Stationary sidewalk vendors are prohibited from operating in areas that are exclusively residential. Sidewalk vendors shall not leave their equipment or objects used for sidewalk vending purposes unattended or stored or maintained on any part of the sidewalk, public property or public right-of-way after vending has ceased for the day, and in no event, between the hours of 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 a.m. in any residential area. Any equipment or objects left overnight in public spaces or in any portion of the public right-of-way will be considered discarded and may be seized or disposed of by the city.

(d) A stationary sidewalk vendor is prohibited from operating in a city park if the city has entered into exclusive agreements for the sale of food or merchandise by one or more concessionaires for that city park.

(e) A sidewalk vendor is prohibited from operating within 500 feet of a permitted certified farmers' market, a permitted swap meet, or any area subject to a temporary use permit for the duration of the permit.

(f) A sidewalk vendor shall maintain a distance of 50 feet from any other sidewalk vendor.

(g) A sidewalk vendor shall maintain a minimum distance of 25 feet from any street intersection, fire hydrant or automated teller machine.

(h) A sidewalk vendor shall not engage in the selling of alcohol, marijuana, adult entertainment material as defined by section 19.26.020, tobacco products, products that contain nicotine or any product used to smoke/vape nicotine or marijuana.

(Ord. No. 959-2018U, § 1, 12-17-2018)

(a) Every person vending without a sidewalk vending permit is guilty of a violation punishable by an administrative citation pursuant to the procedures set forth in chapter 1A in an amount not to exceed:

(1) Two hundred fifty dollars for a first violation; and

(2) Five hundred dollars for a second violation within one year of the first violation; and

(3) One thousand dollars for each additional violation within one year of the first violation.

(b) Every person violating any other provision of this chapter is guilty of a code violation punishable by an administrative citation not to exceed:

(1) One hundred dollars for a first violation; or

(2) Two hundred dollars for a second violation within one year of the first violation; or

(3) Five hundred dollars for each additional violation within one year of the first violation.

(c) Failure to pay an administrative fine is not punishable as an infraction or misdemeanor. Additional fines, fees, assessments, or any other financial conditions beyond those authorized will not be assessed. However, the city may levy a lien on the violator's real or personal property, including the vehicle used for vending purposes.

(d) A violation of this chapter constitutes a separate and distinct violation for each day that it exists and each such violation may be subject to the maximum fine permitted under this chapter.

(Ord. No. 959-2018U, § 1, 12-17-2018)

(a) In addition to the applicable procedures set forth in section 6.30.030, any fine issued under section 5.40.050 will be accompanied with a notice of and instruction regarding the right to request an ability-to-pay determination.

(b) If the requestor is receiving public benefits under Government Code Section 68632(a), or has a monthly income which is 125 percent or less than the current poverty guidelines updated periodically in the Federal Register by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, the public works director will limit the total amount of the requestor's administrative fine to 20 percent of the total.

(Ord. No. 959-2018U, § 1, 12-17-2018)