SANTA ANA : Street Vendors Face Tougher Regulations

Just before noon on Monday, Joe Ortiz began preparing a fresh batch of churros, the popular Mexican pastry that he sells for $1 from a small pushcart on 4th Street.

“I cover them with sugar and cinnamon,” he said as he handed a warm churro to a hungry customer. “I’m just not selling very many of them these days.”

But Ortiz, 28, has more on his mind this week than the slumping sales. He said a new set of regulations and fees for the city’s pushcart vendors, which take effect today, come at a time when he is barely making ends meet.

“Right now, nobody’s making any money,” Ortiz said. “There are no customers because nobody wants to spend money. Last year, I made some money, but now it seems like everyone is broke. We have a high recession right now. The vendors know because we work directly with the public.”

The tighter regulations and higher fees, which were passed by the City Council in July, were the result of a compromise between city officials and vendors. The officials were being pressured by neighborhood activists to ban pushcarts, but that measure was opposed by vendors who depend on the selling of hot dogs, pastries, fruit and other items from pushcarts to make a living.

Neighbors complained about the appearance of some of the carts, trash left behind by customers and the noise generated by the horns, bells and yelling of vendors. Some people were upset by what they said were the unsanitary appearance and habits of some of the operators.

“We’re just trying to clean up the city,” said Fernando Gandara, of the city’s code enforcement department. “It is the public that has requested this kind of enforcement.”

The merchants agreed last spring to tighter controls that include the establishment of hours of operation, uniformed operators and a ban on loud clanging bells. Vendors will be able to operate from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. from October through May and 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. from June through September.

Vendors also must carry a trash container and are not allowed to sell goods within 200 feet of a church or school and within 500 feet of the Santa Ana Zoo, Gandara said.

More dramatically, the new rules also limit the number of pushcarts in the city to 200, even though 276 vendors were previously licensed and at least another 200 were operating illegally, according to estimates made by city staff.

Vendors also face a hefty fee increase in order to stay in operation. The new fees increase a vendor’s annual permit costs to $800, a $230 increase. They will also have to pay $600 for each additional pushcart licensed.

A vendor’s permit can be revoked if he violates three or more of the requirements. First-time offenders may be fined up to $125, depending on the offense.

Because of the higher rates, the city anticipates that some vendors will be forced out of business. Applications are now being accepted for those anticipated openings, Gandara said.

Although the ordinance officially takes effect today, city officials said they will be flexible with the new rules at least until they have a chance to meet with vendors to explain the regulations in detail.

A meeting with the vendors has been scheduled for 1 p.m. Friday in the California Room of the Southwest Senior Center, 2201 W. McFadden Ave.

“We’re trying to be lenient until the meeting,” Gandara said. “We’re trying to work with the people.”