Stockton moves to rescind street vendor ordinance, will seek public input
STOCKTON — The Stockton City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to start from scratch, pulling a street vendor ordinance off its agenda.
After public outcry, the city is looking for new solutions and will seek public input. Stockton Vice Mayor Lee says the city wants to move forward in the right way.
"The decision by the council was not to just go back to the legislative committee to have a conversation where staff can look further into the details," he said. "But also to direct staff to have more community meetings so we can address them and the misinformation that's out there."
Councilmembers Michael Blower and Mario Enriquez are both in support of looking into other solutions. Another solution could be to use an area on Telstar Place that has been recently approved for review by the city's planning commission to potentially become a food truck park.
"They approved a dedicated spot for vendors in north Stockton, and this is the beginning of what we could have in our city," said Stockton Mayor Christina Fugazi.
The city's ordinance, as it reads now, is outdated. State law says cities cannot ban vendors from parks entirely or from sidewalks, but the city is trying to find a balance.
Some people who were in support of this ordinance say they want to see street vendors go through more permitting or licensing processes.
Vice Mayor Lee says multiple districts are now looking into having their own town hall community meetings for vendors in their area.
