Want to buy dirty, dangerous and unsanitary food? Do you want to put honest restaurant owners out of business? Want to stop the tax revenues from the food sold? No wonder street side food vendors need to be put out of business, for the health and safety.
“The source of frustration comes from the increasing trend of street vendors, who business owners claim create unfair competition. Critics say vendors do not pay for operating permits, do not follow health codes, and hurt small restaurants.
Mayor Mark Infanti of Solvang said city leaders need to do more to educate the public about the dangers of street vendors.
“Let’s get something out there that says, ‘It’s unhealthy, and we don’t know what you’re going to be eating if you buy from these vendors,’” Infanti said.”
Locals Demand Crackdown on Street Food Vendors
County and city officials discussed how to combat the increase of food vendors and unsanitary practices
by Daniel Green, Noozhawk, 10/26/24 https://www.noozhawk.com/locals-demand-crackdown-on-street-food-vendors/
What is normally a quiet meeting turned into a packed event, as restaurant owners gathered to demand stronger enforcement and regulations in response to the rising number of street food vendors across the county.
The source of frustration comes from the increasing trend of street vendors, who business owners claim create unfair competition. Critics say vendors do not pay for operating permits, do not follow health codes, and hurt small restaurants.
Mayor Mark Infanti of Solvang said city leaders need to do more to educate the public about the dangers of street vendors.
“Let’s get something out there that says, ‘It’s unhealthy, and we don’t know what you’re going to be eating if you buy from these vendors,’” Infanti said.
The controversy over street vendors was brought to the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments on Thursday when it met for its bimonthly meeting in Santa Maria.
Director Joan Hartmann and Vice Chair Randy Rowse have spoken about the rise in street vendors and brought the discussion to the meeting. Hartmann also serves on the County Board of Supervisors, and Rowse is the mayor of Santa Barbara.
Rowse, who operated a restaurant in downtown Santa Barbara for 40 years, called the outdoor stands “remote predatory operations.”
Rowse also announced that he has been in contact with the president of the California Restaurant Association, who is trying to push for changes in the law. He also pushed for elected officials to do more.
“We need to go after our state representatives about some of these regulations that were intended to give more opportunities to people, while at the same time they’re stealing opportunities from people in our cities,” Rowse said.
During public comment, the board heard from small business owners who talked about how street vendors affect them.
Efren Alvarez-Ramos, who owns Efren’s Mexican Restaurant in Santa Maria, said the topic was complicated for him.
On one hand, his father started as a street vendor. Alvarez-Ramos says his father would never have earned the money to start their family business if he did not start as a vendor.
“But ever since we started our restaurant we have to abide by all the laws and all the stuff that the health department puts in front of us,” he said.
Alvarez-Ramos also expressed concern about where the food comes from and stated that he has had employees steal products to sell their food on the side.
“You don’t know if they’re taking it from another restaurant that they’re working at. You don’t know if they’re taking it from a supermarket,” Alvarez-Ramos said.
Magaly Villanueva, whose family owns three restaurants in Santa Maria, says the rise in street vendors affects small businesses across the city.
Villanueva also brought up the issue of food trucks, which she says do not always follow the law.
“I talk to code enforcement, I talk to the health department, I talk to police, and they all start pointing fingers: ‘Oh, we need this person’s help,’” she said. “I think what needs to be done is that people need to start working together.”
During a presentation, county staff described the issues they faced and the problems they encountered while trying to regulate the rise of streetside food.
According to Lars Seifert, the director of Environmental Health Services, the streetside vendors regularly commit health code violations, such as improper refrigeration and sanitation.
Seifert stated that his staff has seen meats and other perishable food stored in dirty buckets or other containers.
“We don’t know where the food has been prepared or whether it was done safely to begin with, but then it’s not held within a temperature that prevents bacteria from growing,” Seifert said.
He also stated that the sites were not set up for sanitation and that there is no handwashing, clean utensils, or even restrooms for employees.
Other issues include open flames, propane canisters, and roadside safety concerns as potential health risks. Another issue is illegal grease dumping in storm drains and gutters.
Illegal grease dumping is another concern related to street food vendors. Courtesy photos
Seifert said that his staff has tried to shut these stands down, but it is hard to keep up with them due to their untraditional hours. Adding to the issue is that some are in remote locations, and county staff are only allowed to give warnings for the first violation under the law.
“We’re facing operators that know our enforcement provisions are limited,” he said.
After listening to the public comment, board members discussed how they could address their concerns and strengthen the county’s enforcement.
Steve Lavagnino, the SBCAG director, tried to manage expectations after some speakers seemed to believe that the ordinances protecting street vendors were Los Angeles County laws and that Santa Barbara should just ignore them.
Lavagnino clarified that the state is the one that established the laws that provide protections for food vendors and that the county cannot just disregard them.
“We don’t get to pick which state laws we like and which ones we don’t. We’re not at the top of the heap,” he said.
He said he supports composing a joint letter from the county and city leaders to the state legislature asking representatives to look at the law and allow for stricter enforcement.
In his comments, Bob Nelson, the supervisor for the Fourth District, suggested that the county be more proactive in addressing the issue. He also stated that the cities and the county should not have to wait for legislators in Sacramento to fix the issue.
He recommended that the county start impounding food, goods and equipment from food vendors.
“If you confiscate their cooking material, that’s going to get really expensive really quick and really old,” Nelson said.
