ESCONDIDO — Regulations are coming for the city’s street vendors.
The City Council adopted its Safe Sidewalk Vending ordinance in a 3-2 vote on March 4 after a series of subcommittee meetings with vendors regarding regulations. The city had no regulations for street vendors, although it has been working on the issue sporadically since 2023.
The ordinance will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2027, and requires vendors to obtain a city business license, a sidewalk vending permit, and a California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) seller’s permit, among others. Council members Consuelo Martinez and Joe Garcia opposed the proposal, although Jennifer Schoeneck, director of economic development, said staff will continue its outreach efforts with vendors and return to the council should any of the ordinance need amendments.
“This is fascinating to me,” Mayor Dane White explained. “Outside homelessness, this is the one thing that people reach out to me about all the time. On the one hand, you’ve got people who want street vending banned entirely, and on the other hand, there’s a decent amount of people who think it should just be the Wild West. I think this lands in the sweet spot.”
