Fillmore Municipal Code Ch. 7.12 Vendors, Sidewalk Vendors, and Solicitors

Footnotes:

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Editor's note— Ord. No. 814, § 1, adopted Mar. 10, 2009, repealed Ch. 7.12, in its entirety and enacted new provisions to read as herein set out. Prior to amendment, Ch. 7.12 pertained to Peddlers. See Ordinance List and Disposition Table for derivation.

For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.

"Commercial solicitation" means the act of going door to door, house to house, place to place or from street to street for the purpose of selling, contracting, or soliciting to sell, taking orders for goods, wares, merchandise products or commodities, or articles of value, or for services to be performed or furnished. "Commercial solicitation", as defined herein, does not include sidewalk vending, newspaper solicitation, religious or charitable solicitation, solicitations by telephone, solicitations through the United States mail, nor solicitations or selling agents selling their goods wholesale to dealers.

"Goods or merchandise" means includes items and products of every kind and description, including all food, produce, flowers and beverage items.

"Newspaper solicitation" means the act of going door to door, house to house, place to place or from street to street for the purpose of soliciting to sell or taking orders for newspapers, periodicals or other similar constitutionally protected material.

"Nonprofit organization" means a nonprofit corporation that has obtained recognized state or federal tax exempt status.

"Owner" means any person or entity owning, or otherwise controlling the operation of any business or activity involving the vending of goods or merchandise.

"Person" means any individual, firm, partnership, corporation, company, association, society, organization, church, congregation, assembly or league, and shall include any trustee, receiver, assignee, agent or other similar representative thereof.

"Pushcart" means any wheeled human powered device used for the purpose of assisting a sidewalk vendor in conducting business.

"Religious" or "charitable solicitation" means the request, directly or indirectly, of money, credit, property, financial assistance or other things of value, on the plea or representation that such money, credit, property, financial assistance or other thing of value, or any portion hereof, will be used for a charitable or religious purpose, as those purposes are defined in the United States Internal Revenue Code, conducted door-to-door in any place of public accommodation, in any place of business open to the public generally, on the city streets and sidewalks, in the public parks, or in any public place. "Religious" or "charitable solicitation" shall not include solicitations through the United States mail, or to charitable or religious solicitations which are conducted among the members of such religious or charitable group whether at regular assemblies or services or otherwise. "Religious" or "charitable solicitation" shall also mean and include, but are not limited to, the following methods of securing such money, credit, property, financial assistance, or other thing of value, when conducted in the manner set forth in this section:

(1) Any oral or written request;

(2) The sale of any goods or services; and

(3) The sale of any ticket or right to admission to any amusement, show, entertainment, lecture or other enterprise, where such solicitation is made to persons other than the bona fide members of the organization or institution causing the solicitation of, for or on whose behalf the solicitation is made, and where it is represented or made to appear that such solicitation, or any part of the proceeds therefrom, shall be used for charitable or religious purposes.

"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 nonmotorized conveyance, or from one's person, upon a public sidewalk or other pedestrian path.

"Solicitation" means the act of commercial solicitation, religious or charitable solicitation, or newspaper solicitation.

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

"Vehicle" means as defined in the California Vehicle Code and shall include human powered devices.

"Vend" or "vending" means any act of commercial solicitation by operating noise-making devices to attract attention to the vendor, or displaying, selling or offering for sale any goods or merchandise to the public from a vehicle or motorized conveyance. Vending does not include the business operations of a sidewalk vendor, as defined in this section.

"Vendor" means any person who engages in the act of vending or who drives or operates any such vehicle or motorized conveyance for the purpose of vending. Vendor does not include a sidewalk vendor as defined in this section.

(Ord. No. 814, § 2, 3-10-2009; Ord. No. 19-901, § 6, 3-26-2019; Ord. No. 996, § 2, 5-26-2026)

Editor's note— Sec. 3 of Ord. No. 996, adopted May 26, 2026, deleted § 7.12.020, which pertained to permits required for solicitation, and derived from Ord. No. 814, adopted March 10, 2009.

Editor's note— Sec. 4 of Ord. No. 996, adopted May 26, 2026, deleted § 7.12.030, which pertained to applications for permits, and derived from Ord. No. 814, adopted March 10, 2009; and Ord. No. 19-901, adopted March 26, 2019.

Editor's note— Sec. 5 of Ord. No. 996, adopted May 26, 2026, deleted § 7.12.040, which pertained to terms of permits, and derived from Ord. No. 814, adopted March 10, 2009.

Editor's note— Sec. 6 of Ord. No. 996, adopted May 26, 2026, deleted § 7.12.050, which pertained to transferability, and derived from Ord. No. 814, adopted March 10, 2009.

Editor's note— Sec. 7 of Ord. No. 996, adopted May 26, 2026, deleted § 7.12.060, which pertained to revocation, and derived from Ord. No. 814, adopted March 10, 2009.

Editor's note— Sec. 8 of Ord. No. 996, adopted May 26, 2026, deleted § 7.12.070, which pertained to appeals to city council, and derived from Ord. No. 814, adopted March 10, 2009.

(A) Solicitation under this chapter:

(1) Shall not be conducted by any person under the age of 16 years, unless supervised by an adult and in compliance with all laws of the state; and

(2) Shall not be made at any house, apartment or other dwelling unit, nor at any business to which is affixed a sign indicating "No Solicitors" or similar indication that no solicitation contact is desired by the occupants thereof.

(B) No person engaged in the act of solicitation shall:

(1) Affix any object to the person of any member of the public without first receiving express permission therefor;

(2) Persistently and importunely engage in commercial solicitation with the person being solicited after he or she has indicated that he or she is not interested in the solicitation; or

(3) Intentionally and deliberately obstruct the free movement of any person on any street, sidewalk or other public place, or any place open to the public generally.

(Ord. No. 814, § 2, 3-10-2009; Ord. No. 996, § 9, 5-26-2026)

Upon request, any person engaged in commercial solicitation or sidewalk vending shall issue to the customer a written report for the sale or order of any goods or merchandise, services, or any other item or exchange of value, which receipt shall be signed by the person engaged in commercial solicitation or sidewalk vending and shall plainly indicate their name, the date, the goods or services purchased, and the amount received.

(Ord. No. 814, § 2, 3-10-2009; Ord. No. 996, § 10, 5-26-2026)

No person shall conduct solicitations at residences if that person has been convicted of any of the following crimes, as defined in the California Penal Code: murder, mayhem, assault, battery, rape, arson, burglary, possession of burglarious instruments or deadly weapons, crimes of embezzlement, bunco or fraud, or attempt to commit any of the aforementioned crimes or any crimes requiring registration with the police department.

(Ord. No. 814, § 2, 3-10-2009)

Editor's note— Sec. 11 of Ord. No. 996, adopted May 26, 2026, deleted § 7.12.110, which pertained to solicitation and sidewalk vending permit fees, and derived from Ord. No. 814, adopted March 10, 2009; and Ord. No. 19-901, adopted March 26, 2019.

(A) Applicability. This section shall apply to vending as defined in this chapter. This section does not apply to sidewalk vending.

(B) Requirements. In addition to all other requirements set forth in this chapter, all vending other than by a sidewalk vendor shall be subject to and in compliance with the following requirements:

(1) Health Permit. Each owner causing the sale of or offering for sale any produce, food or edibles shall have a valid health permit issued by the appropriate governmental agency, as applicable.

(2) Insurance. Each owner shall have general liability and, when applicable, automobile insurance with coverage in the amounts and with the named additional insured as required by the city's risk manager.

(3) Decal. Each person engaged in vending shall, in a conspicuous location on the vehicle or motorized conveyance, display a city-issued decal visible to the general public. The decal shall be issued when:

(a) The owner has provided the city with evidence of compliance with this chapter; and

(b) The owner's proposed operation has been reviewed and approved by the city as complying with the municipal code.

(4) Self-Contained Vehicle. Any vehicle must be completely self-contained and may not use the utilities on the site on which it is operating.

(5) May not Impede Access. Vehicles and motorized conveyances shall not be located in such a manner as to block parking spaces or driveways, impede vehicular or pedestrian access on public or private property, create a hazardous disruption in the flow of traffic on public roadways or sidewalks, or encroach on landscaped areas by the vehicle, motorized conveyance, or customers.

(C) Areas Allowed or Prohibited. Vending activities shall occur only in commercial and industrial zones of the city; provided, however, subject to the limitations set forth below, vending of ice cream, snowcones and bakery products may be conducted in all zones of the city. Vehicles and motorized conveyances may park on private property, subject to the other limitations in this chapter, only with the permission of the property owner. Vending shall not be permitted:

(1) Upon any alley or roadway median;

(2) Within one hundred feet of any residentially developed property unless visiting a construction site where two or more dwellings are under construction with an active, valid building permit;

(3) Within one hundred feet of the nearest curb or edge of pavement on the cross roadway of any intersection of two or more public roadways;

(4) Within one hundred feet of any freeway on-ramp or off-ramp as defined in the California Vehicle Code;

(5) Within one hundred feet of the property line of any place of worship;

(6) Within five hundred feet of the property line of any public or private school between the hours of eight a.m. and four p.m. on the days when the school is in session;

(7) Within one hundred feet of any public park unless the vendor has formal authorization from the city manager;

(8) To take up more than thirty feet of parallel parking area on a roadway for the vendor's vehicle, and the vendor shall not indicate exclusive roadway parking or reserve any public parking area for its customer parking; or

(9) Upon any specific roadway, or portion thereof, which as a result of the limited parking, limited line of sight, traffic control impacts, high traffic flow is designated by the public works director or city engineer as unsafe for vending.

(D) Hours of Business. Vendors must only conduct the business for which he or she is permitted between the hours of eight a.m. and seven p.m.

(E) Signs. The only signs permitted on a vehicle shall be a sign not to exceed three square feet which may be affixed to two opposite, parallel sides of a vehicle displaying, offering or storing goods or merchandise for sale.

(F) Number of Vendors and Sales Persons. The city may limit the number of vendors at any one location or within an area, or limit the number of sales persons or others engaged in the act of vending for any one owner at the requested or approved location.

(G) Noise or Music While Parked. No noise or music shall be played, created or sounded while a vehicle or motorized conveyance is parked or stationary.

(Ord. No. 814, § 2, 3-10-2009; Ord. No. 19-901, § 9, 3-26-2019)

(A) Applicability. This section applies to sidewalk vending only. Sidewalk vending includes selling or distributing 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 public pedestrian path or within a public park. A sidewalk vendor can be roaming or stationary. The following sidewalk vendors are not subject to the standards in this subsection:

(1) A sidewalk vending pushcart owned or operated by any public agency;

(2) Persons delivering goods, wares, merchandise, fruits, vegetables, or foodstuffs upon order of, or by agreement with, a customer from a store or other fixed place of business or distribution;

(3) Vendors participating in farmers markets or other special events as allowed by the city;

(4) An event at a school facility or an assembly use facility, if the vendor is operating in partnership with the organization conducting the event and is located on the site of the event (i.e., not in the public right-of-way); and

(B) Requirements. The following operating requirements shall be applicable to sidewalk vendors:

(1) No sidewalk vendor shall operate without a valid business license pursuant to Chapter 7.04.010 of this code, a valid California Department of Tax and Fee Administration seller's permit, and a permit issued by the Ventura County Health Department, if the sidewalk vendor intends to sell food or any other item requiring a county health department permit. Notwithstanding Section 7.04.080, entitled "carrying on business without a license," penalties for failure of a sidewalk vendor to obtain and maintain a valid business license shall be as set forth in Section 7.12.170 below.

(2) All business licenses shall be displayed in a visible and conspicuous location at all times during the operation of the sidewalk vending business.

(3) No advertising shall be permitted, except signage may be posted to identify the name of the product or the name of the vendor and the posting of prices. Any such sign shall not exceed three square feet, which may be affixed to two opposite, parallel sides of a pushcart, stand, display, pedal-driven cart, wagon, showcase, rack, or other nonmotorized conveyance used for sidewalk vending.

(4) Insurance. Each sidewalk vendor shall maintain general liability insurance with coverage in the amounts and with the named additional insured as required by the city's risk manager.

(5) It shall be prohibited for any sidewalk vendor to operate under any of the following conditions:

(a) Operate between the hours of nine p.m. and eight a.m. in residential zones;

(b) Leave any stand unattended;

(c) Store, park, or leave any stand overnight on any public street, sidewalk, or park;

(d) Sell food or beverages for immediate consumption unless there is a litter receptacle available for patrons' use;

(e) Leave any location without first disposing all trash or refuse remaining from sales conducted. Trash and refuse generated by the vending cart operations shall not be disposed of in public trash receptacles;

(f) Allow any items relating to the operation of the sidewalk vending business to be placed anywhere other than in, on, or under the stand;

(g) Set up, maintain, or permit the use of any additional table, crate, carton, rack, or any other device to increase the selling or display capacity of his/her stand where such terms have not been described by his or her application;

(h) Solicit or conduct business with persons in motor vehicles or motorized conveyances;

(i) Sell anything other than that which he or she is licensed to vend;

(j) Sound or permit the sounding of any device that produces a loud and raucous noise, or use or operate any loud speaker, public address system, radio, sound amplifier, or similar device to attract the attention of the public;

(k) Operate within fifty feet of a fire hydrant or twenty-five feet of a transit stop;

(l) Operate within fifteen feet of the outer edge of a driveway or vehicular entrance to public or private property in residential zones;

(m) Operate in a manner that does not maintain four feet of clear space on a public sidewalk;

(n) Operate on any street that does not have a public sidewalk;

(o) Operate a stationary vending cart in residential zones;

(p) Operate a stationary sidewalk vending cart in any city park that has a concessionaire during the hours the concessionaire is open;

(q) Operate within fifty feet of an abutting residential zone within a city park;

(r) Operate within a parking lot within a city park;

(s) Operate a sidewalk vending pushcart, stand, display, pedal-driven cart, wagon, showcase, rack, or other non-motorized conveyance in such a manner as to block parking spaces or driveways, impede vehicular or pedestrian access on public or private property, create a hazardous disruption in the flow of traffic on public roadways or sidewalks, or encroach on landscaped areas;

(t) Operate a sidewalk vending cart within five hundred feet of a certified farmers' market or swap meet during the operating hours of that certified farmers' market or swap meet. A "certified farmers' market" means a location operated in accordance with Chapter 10.5 (commencing with Section 47000) of Division 17 of the California Food and Agricultural Code and any regulations adopted pursuant to that chapter. A "swap meet" means a location operated in accordance with Article 6 (commencing with Section 21660) of Chapter 9 of Division 8 of the California Business and Professions Code, and any regulations adopted pursuant to that article;

(u) Operate within the five hundred feet of an area designated for a temporary special event permit issued by the city, provided that any notice, business interruption mitigation, or other rights provided to affected businesses or property owners under the temporary special event permit are also provided to sidewalk vendors. For purposes of this paragraph, a "temporary special event permit" is a permit issued by the city for the temporary use of, or encroachment on, the sidewalk or other public area, including, but not limited to, an encroachment permit, special event permit, or temporary use permit, for purposes including, but not limited to, filming, parades, or outdoor concerts. A prohibition of sidewalk vendors pursuant to this paragraph shall only be effective for the limited duration of the temporary special event permit;

(v) Operate in other than a completely self-contained manner, or use of utilities on the site on which the sidewalk vendor is operating;

(w) Operate as a stationary sidewalk vendor (as opposed to roaming sidewalk vendors) in an exclusively residential zone; and

(x) Operate in violation of any other generally applicable law.

(C) Impoundment.

(1) Any enforcement officer is authorized to impound equipment, carts, food, goods, or merchandise of a street vendor operating in violation of this chapter and whose operations constitute an immediate threat, hazard, or danger to persons or property, pursuant to Section 1.09.100 of this Code. Written notice of the seizure and removal of personal property shall be provided to the person believed to be the owner or otherwise lawfully entitled to possession of the property as proscribed under Section 1.09.100 of this Code.

(2) The city shall store impounded vending equipment, carts, goods, or merchandise for a minimum of thirty days. If the property is not claimed within that time period, the property will be considered legally abandoned and the city may dispose of the property.

(3) The city may immediately dispose of impounded materials that are perishable or cannot be safely stored.

(4) Any costs incurred in the salvage, disposal, or storage of impounded property may be assessed against any responsible person.

(5) Any owner of impounded vending equipment, carts, food, goods, or merchandise may, within fifteen days, appeal the impoundment in writing on the city's appeal form with payment of appeal fees to the planning and community development director, or his or her designee. The appeal shall be filed with the city clerk within fifteen days following the date of the impoundment. The decision of the planning and community development director may be appealed to the city manager by filing the appeal in writing on the city's appeal form with the city clerk and providing appeal fee within fifteen days following the planning and community development director's decision.

(6) Prior to the expiration of the thirty-day holding period or before any appeal related to impoundment becomes final, any person claiming ownership of vending equipment, carts, goods, or merchandise that has been impounded may reclaim such materials upon payment in full of all applicable impound fees incurred and proper proof of ownership. Any unclaimed items will be considered abandoned and forfeited to the city after thirty days following impoundment, and may, in the planning and community development director's discretion, be disposed of as appropriate under applicable state law.

(Ord. No. 19-901, § 10, 3-26-2019; Ord. No. 24-963, § 2, 2-27-2024; Ord. No. 996, § 12, 5-26-2026)

This chapter shall not be applicable to:

(A) Any nonprofit organization, or person acting for it, with respect to the sale of any goods or merchandise constituting or making a statement carrying a religious, political, philosophical or ideological message relevant to the purpose of the organization;

(B) Vending operations conducted by a business which sells food on property it owns or leases in the city, where such business occupies at least ten thousand square feet of enclosed floor area;

(C) Farmers markets, art shows, special city events, and street fairs (other than the Fillmore Festival, as defined in Section 7.13.010) approved and designated by the city as being expressly exempt from this chapter;

(D) Those delivery activities of any business with a fixed place of business which generally only delivers its products, services or goods to a specified address in response to a customer request, order or invoice previously made to that fixed place of business; or

(E) The sale on private property of tools customarily delivered by truck or van.

(Ord. No. 814, § 2, 3-10-2009)

The city council may, from time to time, by resolution, establish procedures to provide for the administration and implementation of this chapter.

(Ord. No. 814, § 2, 3-10-2009; Ord. No. 996, § 13, 5-26-2026)

Editor's note— Sec. 14 of Ord. No. 996, adopted May 26, 2026, deleted § 7.12.150, which pertained to notification of right to appeal, and derived from Ord. No. 814, adopted March 10, 2009.

Any person guilty of violating any provision of this chapter shall be guilty of an infraction and subject to a fine not exceeding fifty dollars for a first violation and a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars for a second violation. A third violation shall constitute a misdemeanor and be punished according to Chapter 1.08 of this code. Upon conviction of a third violation in a calendar year, in addition to any other remedies available to the city, the business license shall be revoked.

(Ord. No. 814, § 2, 3-10-2009; Ord. No. 19-901, § 11, 3-26-2019; Ord. No. 996, § 15, 5-26-2026)

(A) Each person who violates Section 7.12.125, is guilty of an administrative violation punishable as follows:

(1) An administrative fine not exceeding one hundred dollars for a first violation.

(2) An administrative fine not exceeding two hundred dollars for a second violation within one year of the first violation.

(3) An administrative fine not exceeding five hundred dollars for each additional violation within one year of the first violation.

(4) Rescission of a sidewalk vendor business license for the term of that license upon the fourth violation or subsequent violations within one year of the first violation.

(B) Each person who violates Section 7.12.125 by vending without a license issued by the city is punishable by the following:

(1) An administrative fine not exceeding two hundred fifty dollars for a first violation.

(2) An administrative fine not exceeding five hundred dollars for a second violation within one year of the first violation.

(3) An administrative fine not exceeding one thousand dollars for each additional violation within one year of the first violation.

(C) Upon proof of a valid business license issued by the city prior to the date of citation, any administrative fines imposed under this subsection for vending without possessing a copy of the business license shall be reduced to the administrative fines set forth in Section 7.04.170(A) of this code.

(D) All fines imposed pursuant to subsections (A) or (B) above shall be subject to an ability-to-pay determination as described in California Government Code section 51039(f). Concurrently with issuing a citation for such fines to a person, the city shall provide the person with notice of his or her right to request an ability-to-pay determination and shall make available instructions or other materials for requesting an ability-to-pay determination.

(Ord. No. 19-901, § 12, 3-26-2019; Ord. No. 996, § 16, 5-26-2026)