Agenda Item
City Council
Item #: 8.2. 7/11/2023 File #: 23-0428
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THRU: Tom Kisela, City Manager
FROM: Russell Bunim, Community Development Director
1. SUBJECT
Introduction and First Reading of an ordinance adding Chapter 5.53 of the Orange Municipal Code related to regulation of mobile vending vehicles on public and private property, and adoption of a resolution setting fees relating to mobile vendors and mobile vending vehicle permits.
2. SUMMARY
Ordinance No. 11-23 will establish the City’sMobile Vending Vehicle Permit Program to the extent allowed by State law and includes provisions for a permitting process, operating requirements, violations, penalties, recission of permits, and an appeals process.
3. RECOMMENDED ACTION
1. Introduce and conduct First Reading of Ordinance No. 11-23. An Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Orange adding Chapter 5.53 to Title 5 of the Orange Municipal Code (Business Taxes and Regulations) establishing regulations for mobile vending vehicles on public and private property.
2. Adopt Resolution No. 11483. A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Orange setting the amount of fees relating to mobile vendors and mobile vending vehicle permits.
4. FISCAL IMPACT
None.
5. STRATEGIC PLAN GOALS
Goal 1: Provide for a Safe Community
a. Providing staffing and resources to deliver services that ensure public safety.
6. DISCUSSION AND BACKGROUND
State law forbids cities from banning mobile vending trucks from residential areas (Barajas v. City of Anaheim, 15 Cal. App. 4th 1808). State law does, however, allow cities to enact provisions related to public safety. Public safety regulations are not the same as regulations to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public. Section 22455 of the California Vehicle Code provides that mobile vending trucks in a residential district of a city "may vend products on a street...only after bringing the vehicle to a complete stop and lawfully parking adjacent to the curb,” and must comply with local parking ordinances. Furthermore, Section 114315 of the California Health & Safety Code expressly allows City of Orange Printed on 7/6/2023Page 1 of 4
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Item #: 8.2. 7/11/2023 File #: 23-0428
ordinances. Furthermore, Section 114315 of the California Health & Safety Code expressly allows cities to require that lunch trucks stopped for over one hour must operate within 200 feet of "an approved and readily available toilet and handwashing facility." The City of Orange currently has no mobile vending vehicle permitting program compliant with State law. Existing mobile vending vehicles such as ice cream trucks, food trucks, catering trucks, and lunch trucks are only required to obtain a City business license. Additionally, there are no regulations in place for mobile vending activities in the Orange Municipal Code. Section 22455 of the Vehicle Code provides that a City may only regulate the time, place, and manner of vending from vehicles upon any street for public safety reasons. To that end, City staff is proposing that the provisions contained in this Ordinance be adopted into the Orange Municipal Code. New Chapter 5.53 adheres to State law and addresses public safety issues the City is facing due to the operation of various food trucks on public and private property.
Mobile food vehicles are required by County Code to obtain a health permit from the Orange County Health Care Agency. The proposed mobile vending vehicle permitting program and requirements should provide the City with the necessary information regarding the vehicles, their operators (including employees), and will enable the City to regulate their mobile vending activities on public and private property.
The following are public safety concerns relating to mobile vending vehicles congregating where children regularly gather such as parks, schools, day-care facilities, and recreational facilities:
- Students/children walking out into traffic in order to purchase items from mobile vending vehicles.
- Vehicle having to take evasive action to avoid colliding with students/children pedestrians. - Residents having problems backing out of their driveways because of reduced sight visibility. - Increased residential property damage due to students loitering in the front yards of residents (broken sprinklers, worn lawns, graffiti, etc.)
- Increased trash/debris in the residential tract due to students/children littering, which is typically associated with commercial, not residential uses. Garbage attracts vermin. - Disturbances to adjoining neighborhoods as a result of mobile vending vehicle generator, engine, and mechanical equipment noise and fumes.
- Residents intimidated by the large numbers of pedestrians in the street not willing to move.
As provided by State law, the proposed Ordinance will impose reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions on mobile vending vehicles that are related to public safety concerns such as, but not limited to:
- Child safety zones around schools, day-care facilities, recreational facilities, and parks where children regularly gather;
- Vending will be prohibited on streets with speed limits of 35 mph or more; - Vending can only take place on the side of the vehicle that is facing away from traffic, and must not be done in a way that obstructs traffic or ingress and egress into properties; - Food vending vehicles must be parked within 200 feet of a restroom whenever they are operating in one location for an hour or more;
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Item #: 8.2. 7/11/2023 File #: 23-0428
- Limitation on hours of operation that are not unduly restrictive to protect public peace; - Requirements to maintain sanitary conditions (i.e., proper sanitation, food preparation, and food handling to prevent food contamination, poor hygienic practices, and threat of food poisoning);
- Regulations to ensure the collection and disposal of trash and other debris to avoid any remnant pollutants on sidewalks or in gutters at the conclusion of mobile vending activities; - Requirements necessary to maintain safe paths of travel for pedestrians and to ensure compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and other disability access standards; - Requirements to obtain a permit and a valid business license, possess a seller’spermit from the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, or obtain additional licenses from other state and local agencies to the extent required by law; - Requirements that mobile vendors submit information on their operations; - Requirements to ensure no interference with the performance of code compliance, police, firefighter, and emergency medical personnel services; and - Additional time, place, and manner restrictions provided said restrictions are directly related to objective public safety concerns, such as imposing a set limit on the number of mobile vendors per block or a required distance between mobile vendors and sidewalk vendors.
Because of public safety concerns outlined above, City staff has recommended the proposed Ordinance include a no mobile vending vehicle “Buffer Zone” of 500 feet from the nearest property line of any property on which a school building, day-care, or recreational facility is located, unless otherwise authorized to do so in writing by the school principal or owner of the day-care or recreational facility and with a special event permit issued by the City, if applicable. City staff has determined that a buffer zone of 500 feet will greatly enhance the safety of the students/children.
Similarly, buffer zones are proposed around City parks where children regularly gather. Staff further feels that prohibiting mobile vending vehicles on streets with speed limits of 35 mph or greater will eliminate the concerns relating to static uses being parked on certain City streets, and the conflicts that might be created between these uses and the ambient speed of the traffic on the street.
Additionally, the City may also prohibit mobile vending vehicles within the immediate vicinity of a permitted farmer’smarket or swap meet during their operating hours, such as the weekly Orange Home Grown event. The City may also restrict or prohibit mobile vending within the immediate vicinity of an area designated for a temporary special permit issued by the City, such as permit for filming, a parade, an outdoor concert, or the Street Fair.
Lastly the City can impose criminal penalties, such as misdemeanors or infractions, for violations of this proposed Mobile Vending Vehicle Program or any applicable City codes. Mobile vending violations are also punishable as administrative fines. A violation of the City’smobile vending vehicle program or applicable City code is punishable by the following administrative fines: $100 for a first violation, $200 for a second violation, and $500 for each additional violation within one year of the first violation. Any mobile vendor who has been issued an administrative citation is afforded the right to appeal as provided in the adopted administrative citation program contained in Chapter 1.10.
It is the purpose and intent of the proposed Ordinance to establish equitable, clear, and concise regulations applicable to businesses and persons who engage in the operation of mobile vending City of Orange Printed on 7/6/2023Page 3 of 4
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Item #: 8.2. 7/11/2023 File #: 23-0428
regulations applicable to businesses and persons who engage in the operation of mobile vending from vehicles in the City. These regulations are intended to provide for greater public safety by preventing traffic-related safety hazards, especially hazards to school children buying food or other products from mobile food vehicles. The regulations are also intended to preserve the public safety more fully by ensuring that mobile vending vehicles do not disturb the peace, and do not interfere with traffic, as well as ingress and egress into businesses and residences.
7. ATTACHMENTS
· Ordinance No. 11-23
· Resolution No. 11483
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