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Recommendation to receive and file a report prepared by Lisa Wise Consulting, Inc., and the Public Outreach report prepared by City of Long Beach (City) staff regarding the City’s existing sidewalk vending regulations; and
Request City Attorney to prepare ordinance based on the recommendations outlined herein regarding sidewalk vending regulations and update the Long Beach Municipal Code (LBMC) to comply with the most recently enacted State legislation regarding sidewalk vending; to consolidate, where feasible, provisions of the LBMC relating to the regulation and enforcement of sidewalk vendors and similar operations into one ordinance; and, in consultation with City Manager, or designee, repeal provisions of the LBMC that are obsolete, no longer applicable, or no longer enforced related to sidewalk vendors and similar operations. (Citywide)
DISCUSSION
In 2018, the State of California passed Senate Bill 946 (SB 946) which took effect on January 1, 2019. SB 946 established parameters for the local regulation of sidewalk vendors, which only allows local authorities to regulate sidewalk vending in accordance with the provisions of the bill. The bill’s primary intent was to decriminalize sidewalk vending so that local authorities could issue only administrative rather than criminal citations.
According to SB 946, a “sidewalk vendor” is “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.” For the purposes of this discussion, “sidewalks” and “other pedestrian pathways” will be considered to be paved surfaces primarily for pedestrian travel.
The following outlines the requirements and restrictions the City may or may not impose on sidewalk vendors of food and merchandise under SB 946.
Under SB 946, the City may adopt requirements which are directly related to objective health, safety, or welf...
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