Palm Desert Municipal Code Ch. 5.99 Food Sale from Pushcarts

For purposes of this chapter, the following terms have the following respective meaning:

"Pushcart"

means any wagon, cart, or similar wheeled container, not a "vehicle" as defined in the Vehicle Code of the State of California, from which food, beverage, or product is offered for sale to the public.

"Vend" or "vending"

means offering food, beverage, or product of any kind for sale from a pushcart on any sidewalk, street, alley, highway or public place, including the movement or standing of a pushcart for the purpose of search for, obtaining or soliciting retail sales of products.

"Person"

means any natural person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, stockholder, including, but not limited to, owners, operators, lessors and lessees of pushcarts.

"Vendor"

means any person who:

Conducts or permits or causes the operation of pushcart(s) vending food, beverage or product;

Owns, operates, controls, manages or leases pushcart(s); or

Contracts with persons to vend food, beverage or product from a pushcart.

"Operator"

means any person who manually propels or otherwise operates a pushcart for the purpose of vending food, beverage or product therefrom.

"Vendor's permit"

means a permit issued by the city authorizing the holder to engage in the business of vending food, beverage or product from a pushcart.

(Ord. 670 § 1, 1992; Ord. 677 § 1, 1992)

No person shall operate as a vendor without a vendor's permit issued pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, or without any other business tax, license or permit required under any other chapter of this code for each and every pushcart said person is operating or causing to be operated in the city.

(Ord. 670 § 1, 1992; Ord. 677 § 1, 1992)

A. Any person desiring to obtain a vendor's permit shall obtain an application from the director of code compliance. Prior to submitting such application, a nonrefundable fee as established by resolution of the city council shall be paid to the code compliance department to defray, in part, the cost of the investigation and report required by this chapter. After an application permit has been filed with the director of code compliance, he shall cause an investigation to be made by the health officer and chief of police. Permit issuance fees required under this chapter shall be in addition to any license, permit or fee required under any other chapter of this code.

B. Neither the filing of an application for a permit, nor the payment of an application fee, shall authorize the vending from, operation or management of a pushcart until such permit has been granted or renewed.

C. The vendor's permit shall be applied for and issued to the applicant pushcart vendor before the vendor's operators may be issued operator's permits under the provisions of Section 5.99.050.

D. Each applicant for a vendor's permit shall furnish the following:

1. The full true name under which the business will be conducted;

2. The full true name and any other name used by the applicant;

3. If the applicant is a corporation, either foreign or domestic, a copy of the articles of incorporation, and if domestic, a copy of the domestic stock statement;

4. The present residence and business address and telephone numbers of the applicant;

5. A description of the merchandise which the pushcarts will vend;

6. The number of pushcarts owned, operated, leased, controlled or contracted by the applicant to be used in the city;

7. A description of the logo, color scheme, insignia, and any other distinguishing characteristics of the applicant's pushcart;

8. The full and true names, addresses and telephone numbers of all persons employed as operators, contracted, leased or otherwise given control of applicant's pushcarts, and in addition, their:

a. California driver's license, social security number or other identification number,

b. Date of birth,

c. All known criminal convictions excluding minor traffic offenses, stating the date, place, nature and sentence of each such conviction, and

d. Acceptable written proof that each pushcart operator is at least eighteen years of age.

9. If the applicant is a corporation, the name shall be stated exactly as set forth in its articles of incorporation. The applicant shall show the name and residence address of each of the officers, directors, and each stockholder owning not less than ten percent of the stock of the corporation, and the address of the corporation itself, if different than the applicant's place of business.

If the applicant is a partnership, the application shall show the name and residence address of each of the partners, including limited partners, and the address of the partnership itself, if different than the applicant's place of business;

10. Has the applicant had a similar license or permit or franchise revoked or suspended in this or any other city, county or state? If so, state the circumstances of such suspension or revocation;

11. The applicant, if other than an individual, shall also furnish the following information:

a. Each business address of the applicant for the three-year period immediately preceding the date of the application and the inclusive dates of each such business,

b. The nature of the business or firm for the three-year period immediately preceding the date of the application, and

c. The permit history of the applicant for the three-year period immediately preceding the date of the filing of the application, including whether such applicant, in previously operating in this or any other city, county, state or territory has ever had any similar license or permit, or franchise revoked or suspended, and if so, the circumstances of such suspension or revocation;

12. Such other identification and/or information as the director of code compliance may require in order to discover the truth of the matters required to be set forth in the application;

13. When any change occurs regarding the written information required by this section, prior to or after issuance of a permit, the applicant shall give written notification of such change to the director of code compliance within two weeks of such change.

(Ord. 670 § 1, 1992; Ord. 677 § 1, 1992)

The director of code compliance, health officer and chief of police shall have a reasonable period of time in which to investigate the application and background of the applicant for a vendor permit. The director of code compliance shall, within thirty days after the date of the filing of the application, approve or deny the application for the permit or renewal thereof.

(Ord. 670 § 1, 1992; Ord. 677 § 1, 1992)

The director of code compliance, within ten days after receiving approval from the health officer and chief of police, shall grant the permit only if he finds that all of the following requirements have been met:

A. The required fees have been paid;

B. The application conforms in all respects to the provisions of this chapter;

C. The applicant has not knowingly made a material misrepresentation of facts in the application;

D. The applicant has fully cooperated in the investigation of the application; and

E. The applicant, if an individual, or any of the directors, officers or stockholders holding more than ten percent of the limited partners, or profit interest holder, manager or other person principally in charge of the operation of the existing or proposed business of vending from pushcarts in the city, or a natural person employed or contracted or leased with to be an operator has not been convicted or pleaded nolo contendere or guilty within five years prior to his application for a permit to a misdemeanor or felony crime of moral turpitude or drug-related misdemeanor or felony crime, including, but not limited to: the sale of a controlled substance specified in California Health and Safety Code Sections 11054 through 11058; the sale, distribution or display of harmful or obscene matter; indecent exposure; selling or disposing of lottery tickets; permitting gambling, pool selling or bookmaking or in the case of applications for an operator's permit, alcohol or drug-related traffic offenses. The investigating city employee is specifically authorized to obtain state summary criminal history record information as provided for in Section 11105 of the California Penal Code. Any complaint for the abovelisted charges pending before a court of law shall cause the application to be considered pending until adjudication of the complaint.

(Ord. 670 § 1, 1992; Ord. 677 § 1, 1992)

The term of vendor permit, unless sooner suspended or revoked, shall be annual. Upon the expiration of such term, the permittee may renew the permit by paying the renewal fee as established by resolution of the city council. If there are substantial changes in the original application, then a new application shall be required in conformance with Section 5.99.040.

(Ord. 670 § 1, 1992; Ord. 677 § 1, 1992)

A. If the director of code compliance does not find that all of the requirements set forth in Section 5.99.060 have been met, he shall deny the application for the permit. In the event the application for the permit is denied by the director of code compliance, written notice of such denial shall be given to the applicant specifying the grounds of such denial. Notice of denial of the application for the permit shall be deemed to have been served if it in fact, is personally served to the applicant or when deposited in the United States mail with postage prepaid and addressed to the applicant at his or her residence address as set forth in the application for the permit.

B. Any applicant whose application for a food vendor permit has been denied by the director of code compliance, may appeal to the city council.

(Ord. 670 § 1, 1992; Ord. 677 § 1, 1992)

A. Any permit issued under this chapter may be suspended or revoked by the director of code compliance for any of the following reasons:

1. Falsehood of any information supplied by the permittee upon which issuance of the permit was based;

2. Failure of the permittee to promptly notify the director of code compliance of any change occurring subsequent to the issuance of the permit in the information supplied by the permittee upon which the issuance of the permit was based;

3. Failure of the permittee, or of any employees or subcontractors of the permittee, to comply with the regulations set forth in Sections 5.99.120 and 5.99.130;

4. Violation by the permittee, or any employee, subcontractor or independent contractor of the permittee, of any state law or municipal ordinance while in the course of conducting vending operations from pushcarts pursuant to the permit.

B. Any permittee whose permit is revoked shall not be eligible to apply for a new permit for a period of one year following such revocation.

(Ord. 670 § 1, 1992; Ord. 677 § 1, 1992)

A. No vendor shall cause more than three pushcarts to assemble, gather, collect or otherwise join for the purpose of pickup and delivery by the vendor on any street, sidewalk, highway or public place.

B. No person shall vend from a pushcart within one thousand five hundred feet of the nearest property line of any school property, or other location prohibited by any section of this code.

C. No pushcart shall be at any one location for a period of time exceeding ten minutes at the request of a bona fide purchaser.

(Ord. 670 § 1, 1992; Ord. 677 § 1, 1992)

A. Pushcarts shall not be stationed for purposes of offering foods, beverage or product for the sale in any location which creates an obstruction to the normal flow of vehicular or pedestrian access, within ten feet of any intersection, driveway, or building entrance, or in any space designed for vehicular parking.

B. The maximum dimensions of any pushcart shall be six feet in length and four feet in width.

C. The only signs used in conjunction with a pushcart shall be signs affixed to or painted on the pushcart or its canopy.

D. No artificial lighting of any pushcart is permitted.

E. A refuse bin of at least one cubic foot shall be provided in or on the pushcart.

F. No person shall affix to or use in conjunction with a pushcart any loudspeaker, public address system, bells, chimes, or other sound-making device.

G. Pushcart vending is solely authorized in residential districts.

(Ord. 670 § 1, 1992; Ord. 677 § 1, 1992)

Any pushcart operated contrary to the provisions of this chapter is declared to be unlawful and a public nuisance and the city attorney may, in addition to or in lieu of prosecuting a criminal action hereunder, commence an action or actions, proceeding or proceedings, for the abatement, removal or enjoinment thereof, in the manner provided by law, and may take such other steps and may apply to such court or courts as may have jurisdiction to grant such relief as will abate or remove such establishment and restrain and enjoin any person from operating a pushcart contrary to the provisions of this chapter.

(Ord. 670 § 1, 1992; Ord. 677 § 1, 1992)

The provisions of this chapter shall be applicable to all persons and businesses described in this chapter whether the activities described in this chapter were established before or after the effective date of the ordinance enacting this chapter into law. All such persons and businesses shall have thirty days from said effective date to file a completed application for a vendors' permit with the director of code compliance.

(Ord. 670 § 1, 1992; Ord. 677 § 1, 1992)

It is unlawful for any owner or operator to operate a pushcart or cause the same to be operated in the city and no license for the operation thereof shall be granted unless there is on file with the city clerk and in full force and effect at all times while such pushcart is being operated, a policy of insurance approved by the city attorney, with a solvent and responsible company authorized to do business in the state insuring the owner of such pushcart against loss by reason of injury or damage that may result to persons or property from the negligent operation of such pushcart.

(Ord. 670 § 1, 1992; Ord. 677 § 1, 1992)

A. It is unlawful for any person to own, lease, operate or cause or permit to be operated any food pushcart in the city unless such person has submitted with his application for a permit a policy of insurance issued by a solvent corporation holding a certificate of authority to do insurance business in the state of California, which policy shall conform in all respects to the requirements of this chapter.

B. The required liability policy shall insure the owner, and any other person using or responsible for the use of any pushcart with the consent, expressed or implied, of such owner or person, against loss from the liability imposed upon such owner or person by law for injury to, or death of, any person, or damage to property growing out of the maintenance, operation or ownership of any food pushcart vehicle in an amount of one million dollars combined single limit, no aggregate.

C. Cancellation, termination or reduction in coverage of any insurance policy filed with the city pursuant to this chapter shall be just cause for the city council to revoke the license.

D. As a condition of being granted a license pursuant to this chapter, the licensee shall promise, on an application form provided by the city, to indemnify and hold the city free and harmless from any and all liability, claims, loss, damages, or expenses, including attorneys' fees and court costs, arising by reason of the death or injury of any person, including the licensee or any person who is an employee or agent of the licensee, or by reason of property damage to or destruction of any property, including property owned by the licensee or any person who is an employee or agent of the licensee.

E. Every insurance policy and every certificate of liability insurance filed within the city pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall contain the following endorsements:

1. It is hereby understood and agreed that, notwithstanding expressions consistent with or contrary thereto in this policy contained, the policy is expressly issued to cover a food pushcart regulated by the provisions of Title 10 of the Palm Desert Municipal Code. This policy shall inure to, and be for the benefit and protection of, anyone who shall sustain any damages or injury, or to the heirs, personal representatives, administrators, executors or assigns of any such person who may be so damaged or injured or suffer death, by reason of the operation of the food pushcart vehicle or from the defective condition thereof. Liability under this policy shall in no manner be abrogated or abated by the death or dissolution of the insured;

2. There is continuing liability up to the full amount of the policy, notwithstanding any action or recovery thereon;

3. No cancellation or reduction in coverage of this policy for any reason whatsoever shall become effective until the expiration of thirty days after written notice of such cancellation or reduction in coverage shall have been given to the city clerk of the City of Palm Desert. Said period of thirty days to commence running from the date said notice is actually received in the office of the city clerk; and

4. All such policies shall contain a provision naming the city as an additional insured.

(Ord. 670 § 1, 1992; Ord. 677 § 1, 1992)