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Board discusses temporary events, vendor sales and neighborhood impacts after large gatherings
Summary
Supervisors reviewed proposed temporary-use language to limit unrelated vendor sales and address traffic/parking problems after large vendor-run events created neighborhood complaints; staff was asked to reconcile an older section that had allowed vendor sales and to craft enforceable restrictions.
During discussion of temporary uses and special sales, staff raised a section of the existing code (section J, added in 2008) that had allowed special sales events run by parties or agents not occupying the property. Marian said the new draft seeks to tighten temporary-use language so sales are associated with events “held or permitted by the occupant of the property only,” and she recommended removing or reconciling the older section J that appears to conflict with that intent.
A supervisor described past large events at a nursery/greenhouse property where the owner contracted vendors and “they had at least anywhere from 8 to 10 food trucks at the previous events,” creating traffic and neighborhood disruption and ultimately leading to litigation and a temporary injunction in court. Board members noted that the scale of vendor gatherings (number of vendors, parking and ingress/egress planning) — not merely presence of vendors — had driven most resident complaints.
Board members asked staff to locate the accessory‑use language that previously allowed certain seasonal sales (for example, the Christmas tree sales at a retailer) and ensure legitimate accessory uses remain allowed, while preventing unrelated commercial vendors from using temporary events as a loophole. The board emphasized clearer permit-related language and tighter definitions tying vendor activity to the occupant’s normal activity.
No formal motion or enforcement action was taken at the workshop. Instead the board asked staff to identify the prior code language John Muchani had relied on for past accessory‑use approvals, and to propose language that balances permitted accessory uses (e.g., seasonal sales tied to a retailer’s normal business) with prohibitions on unrelated vendor sales that overwhelm a site and disrupt nearby neighborhoods. Staff will return with refined draft language for the next workshop.
