Sacramento Municipal Code Art. III Vendor's Permit Requirements

Section 5.88.040 notwithstanding, a person may operate a food vending vehicle, as defined in and in accordance with Chapter 5.68, within Old Sacramento. (Ord. 2015-0016 § 8)

A. The authority to sell food or flowers pursuant to the provisions of Section 5.88.030(A)(4) of this chapter shall be further limited by the provisions of Sections 5.88.080 through 5.88.180 of this chapter. No person shall sell food or flowers on public sidewalks in the central business district pursuant to the provisions of Section 5.88.030(A)(4) of this chapter unless such person has first been issued a food or flower vendor's permit by the city manager for each food or flower cart or business location.

B. Any food or flower vendor lawfully conducting business on the sidewalks of the central business district as defined in Section 5.88.020 of this chapter on the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter with a valid permit may continue to conduct such business at the same location so long as the vendor complies with all terms and conditions of the permit and of this chapter.

C. Within sixty (60) days after the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter, and every six months thereafter, the city manager shall notify all persons who have expressed interest in obtaining a food or flower vendor's permit and all current permittees that additional locations are available, requesting that any person who wishes to be considered for a new or additional location should notify the city manager. The city manager shall also place an advertisement in the official newspaper of the city and give such additional public notice of the availability of additional locations as he or she deems appropriate.

The city manager shall thereafter conduct a lottery among all those expressing interest in the additional locations, for the purpose of establishing the sequence in which potential applicants may select a location from among those locations which are available. Specific rules and procedures for the lottery and location selection process shall be established by the city manager.

In the event that any previously utilized or assigned location shall become available by abandonment, revocation, attempted transfer, or through any other action or cause, said location shall be included among those locations which may be selected pursuant to the next regularly scheduled lottery.

Assignment of a location to a particular person pursuant to the lottery shall be of no force and effect unless that person thereafter applies for and obtains a vendor's permit pursuant to this chapter. (Prior code § 7.06.060)

An applicant for a food or flower vendor's permit under Section 5.88.030(A)(4) of this chapter shall submit an application to the city manager. The application shall include, among other things, the following:

A. The true name of the applicant, together with the names of all persons directly or indirectly interested in the conduct of such business, including all members of any firm or partnership. A corporate applicant shall list the officers, directors and principal owners, including all owners of ten (10) percent or more of the corporate stock;

B. Whether the applicant has at any time been convicted of a felony or of any offense involving moral turpitude or has been convicted of any narcotics violation or violation of any gambling laws or ordinances;

C. Whether or not any permit or license heretofore granted to applicant to engage in any business or to do any act within the city or elsewhere has been revoked or denied, and, if so, the circumstances surrounding the revocation or denial;

D. The location at which the applicant proposes to conduct the business;

E. The type of food or general type of flowers to be sold, the proposed hours of operation, and a description, drawing or picture of the cart which is to be operated at the location;

F. Such additional information bearing on the identity and character of the applicant or applicant's employees, the location proposed or the nature of the business as the city manager may require. (Prior code § 7.06.061)

The application fee for a vendor's permit referred to in Sections 5.88.080 through 5.88.180 of this chapter shall be accompanied by a nonrefundable fee established by resolution of the city council, provided that if an applicant applies for more than one permit at the same time, a reduced application fee for the second and each additional permit shall be established by resolution of the city council. These fees shall be in addition to any fee or tax imposed by Chapter 3.08 of this code. (Prior code § 7.06.062)

Application for food or flower vendor's permits shall be investigated by the city manager. The investigation shall take into consideration the character of the applicant and any law enforcement problems which the issuance of the permit might tend to create. The city manager may also consider such other sources of information as are available to him or her and may require the applicant to be fingerprinted.

The city manager may deny an application for a food or flower vendor's permit if the applicant has been convicted of one of the type of category of crimes enumerated in Section 5.88.090(B) of this chapter or, if in his or her opinion, the business is to be located or operated under circumstances where it would tend to cause a law enforcement problem or create a public nuisance or where the granting of the permit would not be compatible with the public health, safety or welfare or would not comply with the provisions of this chapter or would be contrary to the public interest. The city manager shall deny the permit if the application does not meet the location requirements or any other requirements of this chapter.

In granting a permit under this chapter, the city manager shall require vendors to limit their hours of operation to between eight a.m. to six p.m., shall require vendors to remove all of their equipment and wares from the assigned location no later than six p.m. each day, and shall prohibit any vendor from locating closer than twelve (12) feet from the outer edge of any entrance to any building. The manager shall have authority to limit the area which a vendor's cart may cover, to approve the design of any vendor's cart, and to specify the exact location on a block where the vendor shall operate, taking into account pedestrian and vehicular traffic flow and the other standards imposed by this article. The city manager may impose such additional reasonable terms and conditions upon the operation of the business as the manager deems necessary or desirable under the circumstances to protect the health, safety and well-being of the public. The city manager may require all food or flowers to be located on the vendor's cart and may prohibit the location of any food or flowers on sidewalks.

If, for a period of ten (10) or more consecutive days between May 1st and September 30th, or sixty (60) or more consecutive days between October 1st and April 30th, a person with a vendor's permit fails to maintain or operate their vendor's business, then the permit shall be deemed abandoned and shall be revoked.

The vendor's permit shall be attached to and prominently displayed on the vendor's cart.

Prior to the issuance of any permit under this chapter, the applicant shall pay to the city revenue officer any business operations tax and the applicable downtown business improvement area tax required by Chapter 3.08 of this code. Decisions of the city manager relating to the granting or denial of an application for a vendor's permit shall be rendered in writing not less than sixty (60) days after the date of application. Copies of decisions shall be mailed to the applicants not later than five days after the date of decision and shall be mailed to the address of any business, conducted on the street level, which is located within one hundred (100) feet of the site of the vendor's permit. (Prior code § 7.06.063)

No more than one vendor permit shall be issued for any street intersection in the central business district. (Prior code § 7.06.064)

In addition to the other fees required to be paid as provided by this article and Chapter 3.08 of this code, a fee established by resolution of the city council shall be imposed for each food or flower vendor's permit issued hereunder per year for the purpose of covering the costs of additional city services provided in connection with the vendor's operations. (Prior code § 7.06.066)

Any aggrieved person wishing to appeal the decision of the city manager in granting or denying an application for a food or flower vendor's permit may do so by filing a written notice of appeal with the city clerk not later than twenty (20) days after the date of mailing the notice of decision of the city manager.

Thereafter such appeal shall be set for hearing by the council. The city clerk shall thereupon notify the appellant that the council has set its hearing upon the appeal and inform the appellant of the time when the appellant will be heard in the matter. Notice of the hearing shall be published once, not less than ten (10) days prior to the hearing, in the official newspaper of the city.

The council may continue its hearing on such appeal from time to time. It may hear evidence from competent persons. It may return the matter to the city manager for further information, or further investigation. The council may affirm, reject or modify the decision of the city manager in regard to the granting or denial of any application or conditions attached to a permit. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, the city council may follow the procedures set forth in Sections 1.24.010 to 1.24.110 of this code relating to a hearing conducted by a hearing examiner. (Prior code § 7.06.067)

The city manager shall have the right for cause to revoke or suspend any vendor's permit issued hereunder. Any of the grounds upon which he or she may or shall be required to refuse to issue an initial permit shall also constitute grounds for such revocation or suspension. In addition, the failure of the holder of the permit to comply with the provisions of this chapter, other provisions of law, or conditions of the permit shall also constitute grounds for revocation or suspension of such permit.

The city manager may revoke or suspend any vendor's permit based upon false representations or other misleading conduct to customers or intended customers made by the vendor or the vendor's employee or representative. The vendor's permit may also be revoked or suspended for failure to keep the area surrounding the vendor's business clean and free of debris from materials used in the vendor's business operation.

Decisions relating to the suspension or revocation of a permit may be appealed in the same manner as provided in Section 5.88.140 of this chapter. (Prior code § 7.06.068)

Every food or flower vendor shall be covered by an unconditional public general liability insurance policy that includes products and/or completed operations for not less than the following sums:

A. For the injury or death of any one person in any one accident, one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000.00);

B. For the injury or death to two or more persons in any one accident, three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000.00);

C. For the damage or destruction of property in any one accident, twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00) or, at the option of the permittee;

D. Five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000.00) single limit for injury, death or property damage.

No permit shall be issued or valid until the permittee shall have furnished the city revenue officer with a "certificate of insurance," for each policy required, executed by the company issuing such policy, and approved as to form by the city attorney. Such policies shall contain a provision which includes the city as also named insured and holding the city, its officers and employees harmless from any and all claims for negligence by reason of granting permission to use such public property. Such insurance policies shall contain an endorsement that the company issuing such policy or policies will not allow the same to be cancelled without serving, by first class mail, ten (10) days' notice of cancellation upon the city clerk. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, the failure of the permittee to carry such policy or policies in force and to properly renew said insurance shall automatically revoke the permit as of the date of expiration of such insurance policy or policies. A payment of the full amount of the application and permit fees required by Sections 5.88.100 and 5.88.130 of this chapter shall be made to the city before any such revoked permit may be reinstated. (Prior code § 7.06.069)

A food or flower vendor's permit is not property and shall have no value. Such permit may not be sold, leased, assigned, hypothecated or transferred in any manner to another person, firm, partnership, or corporation, including new owners in a corporation or partnership, except that a vendor holding a valid permit may transfer said permit to another location where the vendor wishes to operate with the consent of the city manager. (Prior code § 7.06.070)

There shall be no vested right to sell food, flowers, or any goods on the streets, sidewalks, or alleys in the city. The council reserves the right to cancel any permit issued hereunder or prohibit or further restrict the sale of food, flowers, or any goods at any location at any time by amendment of this code. (Prior code § 7.06.071)