GASLAMP QUARTER (KGTV) — Signs marking a "No Vending Zone" are posted around San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter — but a recent court ruling is now casting doubt on whether those restrictions can be enforced.
An appellate court ruled that several city street vending regulations contradict state law, and critics say the city has essentially stopped all enforcement in response.
Michael Trimble, who has been vocal about street vending concerns in the Gaslamp Quarter, said the ruling puts the neighborhood back at square one.
"It just means that there's gonna be more, uh, entrepreneurial vendors coming down to sell whatever they want anywhere they want, without fear of being enforced, and that's just irresponsible for the city to put the Gaslamp Quarter in that kind of position," Trimble said.
Trimble also raised concerns about the environmental impact of unregulated vending in the area.
"We're also very concerned about the stormwater and illegal vendors dumping into the storm drains," Trimble said.
Street vending has been an ongoing issue in San Diego. Vendors believe they have the right to sell on any corner in the city, and city officials have been trying for years to find a legal way to regulate them.
A state law passed in 2018 — Senate Bill 946 — allows cities to pass their own restrictions based on health and safety concerns. The Gaslamp Quarter worked to get the city to enforce a no-vending zone in the area under that framework, but Trimble said the appellate court ruling has undermined that effort.
"Yes, they're in litigation with this case, but they still have a responsibility to enforce the no-vending zone that the city created for the Gaslamp Quarter," Trimble said.
Trimble said he is working with police to find a solution.
A city spokesperson said recent court rulings have limited how police can enforce street vending laws. Officers currently cannot impound vending equipment, and enforcement in the Ballpark District is restricted. Because most street vending violations are administrative rather than criminal, officers also have fewer enforcement options available.
The spokesperson added that staffing shortages and limited overtime resources, combined with the need to prioritize emergency calls and violent crime, have reduced the Police Department's ability to proactively enforce street vending regulations and led to a more limited enforcement approach.
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