Planning commissioners press supervisors to act on unpermitted vending at 490 Salinas Road

The Monterey County Planning Commission on June 25 urged quicker action by the Board of Supervisors and county enforcement teams to address a growing concentration of unpermitted food vendors, catering trucks and swap‑meet activity at the railroad station near 490 Salinas Road in North Monterey County.

Commissioners said the activity — which Commissioner Mendoza described as expanding from “one catering truck” to several trucks and multiple vendors on weekends — is creating traffic and public‑health risks and appears to be worsening without sustained enforcement. “There must have been 40 cars out there,” Commissioner Mendoza said, adding that the site lacks restrooms and wash stations and that vendors are operating in an area not designed for heavy vehicle or pedestrian traffic. “The only way you’re gonna address that is throwing money at it,” she said.

Why it matters: commissioners…