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Crescent City Councilors weighed in on a proposed ordinance covering mobile vendors and gave their blessing to the police chief who is seeking state grant dollars to catch people purchasing alcohol for minors.

The Council directed the Planning Commission to help update the city’s temporary vending ordinance in August 2019. On Tuesday, Public Works Director Jon Olson and City Attorney Martha Rice came back to Councilors with the following recommendations:

A mobile vendor like a food truck or someone selling merchandise in a parking lot or a city street are required to obtain a mobile vending permit as part of their business license. Mobile vendors can operate on public streets, public parking lots and private property without a use permit in most areas. A use permit is required for mobile vendors on private property in residential areas of the city, according to Rice.

Mobile vendors can’t sell within 300 feet of a farmer’s market, special event or school when it’s in session, Rice said. They can’t sell within 50 feet of an intersection and will be required to obtain liability insurance.

Regulations for sidewalk vendors — those selling food or merchandise from a push cart wagon or another moveable device on a public sidewalk — will be required to get a sidewalk vendor permit. A business license is not required, Rice said. Sidewalk vendors are also subject to the same requirement as mobile vendors when it comes to farmers markets, special events and schools, she said.

“You can’t set up right outside a farmers market or special event where people have paid money and met a certain criteria in order to become part of that event,” Rice told Councilors.

During the Planning Commission’s discussion about the ordinance and based on analysis from staff, the initial thought was to prohibit mobile vendors from setting up shop within 300 feet of a brick and mortar type business, Olson said. According to Olson, Rice recommended removing that stipulation after researching court decisions.

There was also some discussion about having the ordinance address vending near a “substantially similar business,” but Rice felt it was too vague and too difficult to enforce, Olson said.

There was also discussion among staff about requiring vendors to sell toward pedestrian facilities such as sidewalks to avoid conflict between motorists and pedestrians, Olson said. He said vendors would be discouraged from setting up tables and chairs on a sidewalk or in a street unless they’re part of a special event that’s blocks vehicular traffic.

Merchants who wanted to set up tables and chairs would be required to do so in a parking lot, Olson said.

“From an enforcement perspective we can take a look at things like this,” Olson said, pointing to a satellite image of the parking lot at 3rd and K streets in Downtown Crescent City. Toward the northern edge of the image, Olson said, two hypothetical vendors would be too close to the intersection.

“If we saw that as a safety hazard, police would say it’s time to move on; or the code enforcement officer or if there were complaints or if we see things that are unsafe, we would address it,” Olson said. “A tall display on the corner of the street would not be permitted.”

Crescent City Mayor Blake Inscore noted that a mobile vendor ordinance, especially as it applies to food trucks, was something local youth thought would be good for economic development in Crescent City. Visitors are especially drawn to food trucks, he said.

“In a recent trip my wife and I made, we ate for three days, other than breakfast in the hotel, exclusively out of food trucks,” Inscore said. “It was some of the most amazing food that we have ever had while traveling — just phenomenal.”

Dave Gearhart, owner of Dave & Suzie’s Grub Hut, said he’s ready to go when the ordinance is finalized. But, he said, he was concerned about insurance. He said he has a $2 million on his food truck.

“I’ve seen one in Oregon, right in the middle of the night at 3 a.m., it blew up,” Gearhart said. “And the other thing, is the safety of the food vehicle itself. You don’t want to leave it where you’re working. You want it locked up.”

According to Olson, the draft ordinance will go back to the Planning Commission for input. It will come back to the Crescent City Council for final adoption.

Meanwhile, Griffin said he’s seeking $25,000 from the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. This would pay for 16 nights of enhanced patrol and minor decoy-shoulder tapping operations, which involve sending minors into businesses to try to buy alcohol. According to Griffin, the grant money will also involve putting on classes to educate business owners.

About $2,500 will be used for new equipment, including a body wire and a receiver, he said.

The deadline to apply for the grant is March 30, Griffin said. He said the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control is awarding up to $100,000 per agency.

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