Santa Barbara County is considering new regulations on street vendors who sell things like prepared food and beverages. The Board of Supervisors will consider the issue at their next meeting on February 10.
SB 946 and SB 972, laws that were passed in 2018 and 2022, made it easier for street vendors to operate in California.
A Grand Jury Report released last year looked at health and safety issues involving street vendors, and found that since these updates to state law, Santa Barbara County hasn’t been able to “effectively enforce permitting requirements.”
A new ordinance in front of the Board of Supervisors would allocate money for a six-month pilot program to inspect sidewalk vendors in the unincorporated parts of the county.
A team of county staff and one deputy sheriff would check food temperatures, confiscate unsafe equipment and deliver violation notices.
Jason Johnston, the Environmental Health Services Director for Santa Barbara County, said his department gives education to unpermitted vendors on how to get their permits up to date.
“ Our goal is food safety and preventing foodborne illness,” Johnston said. “Our goal is not to punish people, it's to get them into compliance.”
A letter to the board of supervisors from the health department and county executive says that the enforcement team would identify themselves clearly to avoid being mistaken for immigration officials.
Multiple street vendors in California have said they were arrested by immigration enforcement while working, despite their legal status.
Additional regulations would mean vendors couldn’t use a shade canopy bigger than a four foot wide umbrella, have more than one chair or stool or operate next to a school when it's in session.
The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors will discuss the ordinance at their next meeting and will likely choose to hold another hearing on the issue at the beginning of March.
