Costa Mesa approves new ordinance on sidewalk vending with fewer restrictions than first proposed

Vendors selling tacos, fruit and other wares from the sidewalk are officially welcome in Costa Mesa, with the City Council approving a sidewalk vending ordinance Tuesday night.

The council voted 5-1, with Councilwoman Sandy Genis dissenting and Councilman Allan Mansoor absent, to establish regulations governing where vendors can place their stands throughout Costa Mesa. The ordinance will return to the council for a second reading before it is enacted.

“I can vaguely remember the time when I would go with my parents to get an elote [grilled corn], and I can recall a time when I couldn’t,” Councilman Manuel Chavez said. “I didn’t know why. I just remember being sad about it.”

A state law signed in 2018 by then-Gov. Jerry Brown limits how much cities can regulate sidewalk vendors, but Costa Mesa did enact some restrictions — albeit looser than those in neighboring cities Newport Beach, Laguna Beach and Huntington Beach. Sidewalk vendors will be allowed to operate from 8 a.m. to sunset in residential zones. Operating hours elsewhere in the city will be unrestricted.

Costa Mesa’s former ordinance prohibited sidewalk vending in most of the city. The council decided in October to postpone voting on a new ordinance until it contained fewer restrictions than proposed.

Genis, who voted against the new ordinance Tuesday, said she was concerned about potential effects on neighborhoods, such as noise.

Mayor Katrina Foley said some vendors already sell in Costa Mesa and that this ordinance formally recognizes their work, requires a business license and health permit and specifies where they can sell.

“So let’s legalize what’s already happening and make it so that people can be proud of doing this work and providing this service to our community,” Foley said. “Plus, I think it’s part of, in certain neighborhoods, our Costa Mesa eclectic charm.”

Wireless facility ordinance gets another tweak

The City Council took another pass at its wireless communications ordinance Tuesday.

The ordinance, which the City Council passed at its last meeting Feb. 4 after a five-hour discussion, was returning for what was expected to be a perfunctory second reading. But activists who have advocated for tighter regulations urged the council to make more changes. After another discussion, the council decided to tweak the ordinance again.

Now, when a telecommunications provider applies for a wireless facility, anybody within 100 feet of the proposed location will be notified.

Because of the change, the ordinance will again return to the council for a second reading.

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