There might be a crackdown on residents who are on the street
corner illegally selling boxes full of oranges and other goods. San
Benito County officials are considering enforcement of illegal
street vending or at least the possibility of forcing those who do
to get a permit.
There might be a crackdown on residents who are on the street corner illegally selling boxes full of oranges and other goods.
San Benito County officials are considering enforcement of illegal street vending or at least the possibility of forcing those who do to get a permit. After hearing continually receiving complaints about illegal street vendors throughout the county, the board of supervisors during its Feb. 1 meeting scheduled a future meeting to discuss the details relating to the county’s enforcement.
In the same meeting, board members expressed interest in working with the city’s council members to fix the issue. On Feb. 3, representatives from the city and county scheduled an intergovernmental meeting in March to discuss ways to prevent illegal street vendors.
The item was agendized after county resident Marty Richman, a Free Lance columnist, complained to the board of increased activity.
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During the meeting, Supervisor Jerry Muenzer said he has received complaints about the illegal food vendors that seem to populate areas where there are large groups of people.
The item is nothing new for Hollister and the county, as it’s something that city’s code enforcement and the county’s health department have worked hard on for years, Code Enforcement Officer Mike Chambless said.
“When I get a complaint I drop everything and go there,” he said.
To cite or control the illegal street vending, he has to receive a complaint from the public first, he said. Because of a small staff – two part-time workers and Chambless – they can’t go out and look for code violators.
“We aren’t preventive – we are reactive,” Chambless said. “The city council only allows us to respond to complaints.”
City Manager Clint Quilter explained that it would stretch the resources too thin.
“It would be nice to, but we just don’t have the resources,” he said.
And the code enforcement division has to work closely with the county’s environmental health department for all complaints within the city limits, Chambless said. The city’s code enforcement division can only issue a citation, while the environmental health department destroys the food.
Environmental Health Department Manager Vivian Nelson said it can be difficult to get them at the same place at the same time, but they respond to all complaints.
Because of the reactive nature of both agencies, Nelson is hoping to install a sticker system for the county’s street vendors. The vendors who have their permits and all necessary documentation would receive a sticker telling the public their food is fine.
The sticker plan is something Nelson hopes to implement soon, she said.
“It will make them easy to identify for the public and us,” she said.
However, neither the city’s code enforcement office nor the health department has received an increase in complaints in the New Year.
“We haven’t received one in a while,” Chambless said.
Still, the issue is the public’s health, Nelson said.
“We don’t know where the food comes from,” she said. “We don’t know if it’s be cleaned. Germs can cover the food, but you can’t tell by look or smell.”
See the full story in the Free Lance.
