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Atascadero council weighs limited rules for sidewalk vendors, cites state law and enforcement limits
Summary
City Attorney Dave Fleischman briefed the council on state sidewalk-vending laws (SB 946, SB 972, SB 635) and the council discussed ADA clearance, size limits, special-event buffers, enforcement challenges and outreach; members signaled a light-touch approach and asked staff to return with drafts after public engagement.
City Attorney Dave Fleischman told the Atascadero City Council on June 23, 2026, that state law (SB 946) restricts local regulation of sidewalk vending unless rules are directly tied to objective health, safety or welfare concerns, and he outlined options including size limits, ADA standards and geographic exclusions.
"SB 946 limits what cities can regulate unless those regulations are directly tied to objective health, safety and welfare concerns," Fleischman said, explaining that the legislature intended the law to create low-barrier entrepreneurial opportunities while protecting pedestrian safety.
Council members focused on a handful of practical issues: ensuring minimum ADA clearance on sidewalks (staff cited a 36-inch standard as a baseline), tying size limits to objective measures (the state references a 25-square-foot threshold for certain health exemptions), defining buffers around special events (examples such as 500 feet were discussed), and how to escalate enforcement from education to citation to business cessation when necessary.
Members also raised enforcement realities: transient, pop-up vendors are difficult to identify for follow-up, and police officers generally need a legal basis to stop a vendor (officers cannot routinely demand paperwork without probable cause). Private-property operations raised separate concerns; speakers noted that large, permanent-looking setups on private lots pose fire and health risks and can be addressed through existing permit, zoning or trespass tools.
Public commenters and council members emphasized an outreach-first approach. Several councilmembers said the city is not facing a vendor onslaught and recommended a "light-touch" ordinance focused on public-safety limits (clear sidewalks, distance from special events, and prohibitions in certain high-risk locations like medians or near fire stations) rather than broad, high-cost permitting that could stifle small entrepreneurship.
Next steps: staff will take council direction on priorities, conduct community outreach and return with proposed ordinance language and implementation options; several councilmembers suggested deferring major drafting work until after other near-term priorities and emphasizing workshops with stakeholders.
