Sacramento County presents sidewalk vending ordinance with safety, licensing and park concessions

Sacramento County staff told the Environmental Commission on Monday that the county will present a package of sidewalk vending regulations to the Board of Supervisors the following day, and that the rules would combine business licensing, food-safety permitting and changes for vending in regional parks.

The proposed ordinance creates two business-license categories — stationary and roaming vendors — and requires anyone selling food to obtain a health permit for a compact mobile food operation (CMFO). County staff said the draft ordinance would apply business licensing to unincorporated Sacramento County while the health-permit requirements would apply countywide.

Janae Monasterio, director of the county Environmental Management Department, said the package is intended to implement the state Safe Sidewalk Vending Act while protecting public health and safety. “The goal of our ordinance is to provide a clear pathway for the people that want to vend on the sidewalks…while balancing that with public health and safety,” Monasterio said.

The draft ordinance includes operational restrictions that county staff described as safety-based. Among the distances and limits listed in staff slides and the public presentation: a 200-foot buffer from libraries, police stations and government buildings; 100 feet from outdoor dining areas; 20 feet from crosswalks; 45 feet before and 5 feet after bus stops; 15 feet from…