Sidewalk vendors will continue to pay $38 annually for a permit to sell their wares in San Diego after the San Diego City Council voted Monday to extend the policy, which cost the city $1.3 million in the past year, offset by only $27,000 in revenue raised by the fees.
Back-of-the-envelope math: Each of the 724 registered street vendors costs city taxpayers about $1,800 each. That's a lot of Disney knock-off toys.
The plan could have cost even more — back in May of last year, the city anticipated costs of $4.5 million to pay for what was thought would be a 32-person enforcement team, of which only two have been actually hired. The city budgeted for 44 positions in Fiscal Year 2023, according to the office of City Council Member Vivian Moreno.
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Back to the envelope: $4,500,000÷724=$6,215.
Monday's vote passed by a wide margin — 8-1 — as it did last year when the ordinance, which restricts where the vendors can operate, first came before the council. Negotiations in the council chamber in 2022 brought permit fees down from $230 to $38, the same price as a business tax certificate in the city.
The proposed ordinance was developed by Councilwoman Jennifer Campbell, who represents District 2, which includes the street vendor-heavy neighborhoods of Ocean Beach and Pacific Beach.
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"With this, we can balance the needs of vendors, residents and our public spaces," Campbell said at the time.
Last year, Campbell modified the proposed fee, asking to reduce it to $100 for the first year and then receive analyses from city staff. Council member Monica Montgomery Steppe, who represents District 4, asked for an amendment to bring it down to $38 for the first year, which Campbell agreed to and which was extended this week at Monday's vote.
Moreno, who opposed the measure both on Monday as well as a year ago, last year cited her frustration with additional fees for working-class and immigrant families.
“I believe that the average San Diegan would prefer to see this $4.5 million go to the SDPD to hire police officers and/or civilian police employees to improve response times instead of spending it on ensuring street vendors are in strict compliance with city regulations," Moreno said in a statement sent to NBC 7 on Tuesday afternoon.
The ordinance sets up a system of enforcement that varies for those with and without permits. For a first violation, a warning, followed by fines and ultimately confiscation of the stall and wares.
The regulations went into effect last summer and imposed restrictions on vendors, including when they can sell wares in "high-traffic" areas like boardwalks, beach-facing sidewalks and parks between Memorial and Labor days. It also set up parameters for where vendors can physically set up. For example, 15 feet from another vendor, 50 feet from a "major transit stop" and 100 feet from any sidewalk or street closure.
By most measures, the ordinance was a success, curtailing most of the business in the targeted areas, though pedestrians can still get henna tattoos at multiple locations along the Prado in Balboa Park on most weekends, and there's still sage, crystals and other Obecian-targeted wares along the waterfront in Ocean Beach.
“It is important to remember the effective enforcement that was achieved upon rollout of the vending ordinance," reads, in part, a statement District 1 Council member Joe Lacave sent to NBC 7 on Tuesday, adding:
“The minimal effort the city expended over the past year is a testament to vendor compliance with the ordinance. Although enforcement has made a remarkable difference, there remains a cause for concern. We must not overlook the concerns expressed by visitors to our beaches and shoreline parks. I look forward to keeping the license fees modest while ensuring the city enforces the laws on the books and keeps our public spaces enjoyable by all.”
