SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO : Vendor Ordinance on Agenda Tonight

The City Council tonight will consider beefing up its vendor ordinance in response to complaints about mobile merchants parking for several hours at a time on residential streets.

Complaints have come from the Capistrano Villas and Casa Capistrano condominium complexes.

Proposed ordinance revisions would limit to 30 minutes the time a vending vehicle could stay at any location. The vehicle would be required to move at least 100 feet to a new spot.

Hours would be limited to 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Vendor activity on Sundays would be prohibited.

Daniel W. McFarland, a city building official, said that vendors who have seen the revised ordinance do not have any objections.

McFarland said the city plans to distribute information packets in both English and Spanish to licensed vendors, explaining the ordinance changes.

Meanwhile, city officials “have been as aggressive as we can be” in cracking down on unlicensed vendors who have often chosen Sundays to sell their wares, McFarland said.

The city’s code enforcement officer has done everything from confiscating several hundred cassette tapes of illegally recorded music to issuing citations to people selling tamales from the trunk of a car, McFarland said.

Gillian Cannon, a board member of the Capistrano Villas II homeowners association, said the number of vendors, especially produce trucks, has increased in recent years.

Cannon questioned whether the city will have the ability to enforce the tougher ordinance.

“I think the revised ordinance is wonderful, but I’ve got to tell you that when I see them enforcing it, I’ll be a believer,” Cannon said.

McFarland said that two building inspectors will be required to help the code enforcement officer whenever possible.