ANAHEIM : Vending Permit Hold May Be Extended

Street vendors wanting to work in Anaheim may have to wait at least another six months if the City Council votes on Tuesday to extend a moratorium on issuing new vendor/operator permits.

The moratorium does not affect the approximately 150 licensed vendors who currently sell a variety of products including produce, groceries, cigarettes, clothing and furniture from the back of parked trucks and vans, city officials said.

In September, the council voted 4 to 0 to prohibit new licenses to vendors for 90 days with the hope of drafting an ordinance during that time that might curb complaints about trash, noise, customer loitering and vendors staying in one location too long, said City Code Enforcement Manager John W. Poole.

“We tried to work out a new ordinance but 90 days wasn’t enough time,” Poole said. “Right now, there are already too many vendors and we didn’t want any new ones to add to the problem as we tried to work this out.”

Poole said that since September, there have been some improvements but violations and complaints continue.

Javier Barajas, an Anaheim vendor and president of the Southern California Street Vendors Assn., said Friday that extending the moratorium might be a good idea.

“There are already too many,” Barajas said. “But the vendors working have tried harder and the streets are cleaner. They sometimes get blamed for trash that was there before they drove up.”

A public hearing on the matter will be held on Tuesday. City officials have recommended that the council continue the moratorium until June 30 because of continuing complaints.

In 1993, the 4th District Court of Appeal nullified a 1992 Anaheim ordinance that prohibited street vending in neighborhoods.