San Francisco bill targeting illegal street vendors passes first reading

SAN FRANCISCO (CN) — The San Francisco Board of Supervisors Tuesday passed a new bill aiming to crack down on illegal street vendors who hawk stolen goods on the city's sidewalks.

The legislation, sponsored by Supervisor Hillary Ronen and Mayor London Breed, would give any illegal street vendor just 10 minutes to leave before enforcement officers issue citations and take away their goods.

Street vending is already banned in certain areas of San Francisco, such as UN Plaza and Mission Street. The new legislation will apply to other parts of the city where street vending currently occurs.

In addition to the warning, the new bill will require vending permits to include a photograph of the vendor to prevent the transfer or sale of permits, and it will allow the Department of Public Works to change enforcement policies on the fly without commission approval to better respond to the issue.

Vendors must also have receipts for used and new items they are selling, and they must register with the San Francisco Tax Collector.

A 2018 state law legalized street vending in California, but city officials have argued that the law has led to a proliferation of illegal vendors selling stolen goods throughout the city. 

The Mission District has been a point of emphasis for the city. Fencing operations have resulted in violence and disruptions on Mission Street near its two BART stations, and in November the city approved a 90-day ban on any street vending along stretches of Mission Street. In February, the city extended that ban for another six months after street conditions improved.

The city has also set up two indoor vending marketplaces for legitimate street vendors to sell their goods, but sales have been so poor at one location that the city is consolidating them to a location called La Placita near 20th and Mission Streets. La Placita opens this week, and has 20 total vendor spots available.

Ronen, who represents District 9, which includes the Mission, told the San Francisco Chronicle last week that fencers have made life difficult for those living in the district. She said some people face harassment from the vendors and do not feel safe walking to the BART stations.

Ronen told The Chronicle that the city is working with California to amend the 2018 law, which banned police departments from intervening in enforcement of illegal sales, a move which Ronen, Breed and other state and city officials have criticized.

Also on Tuesday, Breed introduced legislation to prohibit some retail establishments in the Tenderloin neighborhood from operating between the hours of midnight and 5 a.m.

Breed said she is introducing the legislation to break up drug markets and illegal street vendors that congregate outside of corner stores on certain blocks of the Tenderloin after dark.

“This is an idea for the community, from the community. The drug markets happening at night in this neighborhood are unacceptable and must be met with increased law enforcement and new strategies. We are coordinating these efforts across agencies and with the community so that we can make deep and lasting changes in this neighborhood,” Breed said in a statement.

Specifically, the legislation will prohibit stores bounded by O’Farrell, McAllister, Polk and Jones streets that sell prepackaged food or tobacco products from opening to the public between midnight and 5 a.m. Restaurants, bars and event halls are exempted.

Stores could face fines of up to $1,000 for each hour they operate in violation of the ordinance.

Kate Robinson, executive director of the Tenderloin Community Benefit District, said in a statement that "the enhanced coordination we are seeing amongst City partners is yielding tangible results, especially in the daytime, and this renewed focus on quelling known nighttime trouble spots will put us on a renewed path towards a sustainable future for residents."

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