SAN DIEGO — Sidewalk vending across much of San Diego can resume again after a summer break.
Vendors can return to some public parks and along the beach, but they will need to follow a set of rules outlined by the city’s vending ordinance.
Vendors will need to obtain a Sidewalk Vending Permit before conducting business and follow the rules or risk being fined. Most vendors FOX 5 spoke with are complying with the permit, but not all agree with having to obtain one.
Teahrae “Happy,” the owner of Happy Everyday By Teahrae in Mission Beach, is a spiritual healer with her own clothing line.
“I’m a teacher of love, what we put out is what we put back, so I’m setting up my T-shirts,” Happy said.
Happy was the first vendor back at Mission Beach on Tuesday afternoon after the summer moratorium. The break meant no public vending in certain public parks and beaches from Memorial Day to Labor Day in San Diego.
Now with the vendors returning, they will need to have a Sidewalk Vending Permit and display it while selling.
“It was $141, that’s how much it cost,” said Happy, who added that they have to pay taxes every quarter too.
Vendors must also have a seller’s permit and a business tax certificate. The taxes are due annually and will be renewed with the vending permit. Happy said she was also told to obtain a business license, which she adds is redundant next to her sidewalk vending permit.
“It’s not fair at all, because the business permit itself is justifiable, it speaks for itself. That’s just another way for San Diego to get money,” Happy said.
“I think under the First Amendment, right, we should not have to have that stuff, personally,” said Leslie Stephenson-Whittemore, owner of the Gypsy Sunset Jewelry. “Makes it more of the business of it instead of having the art.”
Stephenson-Whittemore sells handmade jewelry.
“We use one-of-a-kind items, you don’t find in other places,” Stephenson-Whittemore said.
Vendors must comply with the following sidewalk vending rules: operate within the hours pursuant to their location; keep their area clean from debris and trash while providing a bin for customer’s trash; have a San Diego County Public Health permit, plus a San Diego County food handler card; and provide hand sanitizer for their customers.
Stephenson-Whittemore said although they don’t fully agree with the vending permits, it is worth it to be able to operate their businesses.
“Little extra money here and there, but mostly to get the jewelry we make out and about,” Stephenson-Whittemore said. “I didn’t know I was going to have to jump through all these hoops and hurdles hoops,…to do something I’ve dreamed of to be so big…and I’m doing it the right way. I have my own rent to pay, that’s why I’m here today.”
Vendors with permits found in violation could face punishment from a written warning for the first violation to up to $500 for a third and each subsequent violation within one year of the first year of the violation.
People found vending without a permit could receive a written warning or up to $1,000 for a third and each subsequent violation within one year of the first year of the violation.
