San Francisco will bring nine permitted street vendors back to Mission Street in the first phase of a pilot program on June 17, according to Santiago Lerma, street crisis coordinator of the Department of Emergency Management.
These vendors — limited to Mission Street between 23rd and 24th streets and not on the BART plaza — will be able to sell on the sidewalk, despite the ongoing Mission street-vending moratorium, which started last November and in February was extended for another six months to the end of August.
Lerma said that the spots will be given to vendors who are part of the Mission Street Vendors Association and “originally held permits on that stretch of the street” before the ban went into effect. If the first phase is successful, the pilot program area will be extended to 22nd Street along Mission Street, or might even include the 24th Street BART plaza, if BART agrees.
Details of the pilot project are preliminary, and the number of vendors and blocks may change.
Sheila Chung Hagen, legislative aide to Supervisor Hilary Ronen, said the program will be operated “in a manner that still maintains the safety of the corridor for everybody.”
“Even though we’ll have this under the moratorium,” Hagen said, “there will be some exceptions that we’re going to make, to test out how to bring back these permitted vendors.”Â
Earlier efforts to limit vending to permitted vendors failed as the plazas and Mission Street were overrun with unpermitted vendors, leading to the permanent ban. That ban has proven to be effective at the plazas as long as officers from the San Francisco Police Department and staff from the Department of Public Works are present.
The ban, however, has been a disaster for displaced permitted vendors, who have been asked to sell in two of the city’s designated vending spaces — La Placita at 24th and Capp streets, and the recently closed El Tiangue, which was at 17th and Mission streets.
At the same time as the pilot program will roll out, Sen. Scott Wiener introduced SB 925 a state bill on Monday that would ease police’s ability to address the selling of stolen goods by the beginning of next year.Â
Under the legislation, vendors would be required to obtain a permit to sell merchandise that the Board of Supervisors places on a list of goods that are common targets of retail theft. Erik Mebust, the director of communications for Wiener, said that such a list might include items like deodorant, shampoo and skincare products.Â
Repeated violators who sell items on the list without a permit or any proof of purchase would be cited with a misdemeanor and face up to six months in county jail.
Once the legislation passes, the Board of Supervisors will decide on the prohibited goods. The legislation would take effect on Jan. 1, 2025.
Hagen, Ronen’s aide, said that the list will be based on the data of stolen merchandise being sold on the streets and confiscated by the San Francisco Police Department.
The bill was endorsed by seven Mission organizations, including the Mission Street Vendors Association, the Mission Merchants Association, Mission Neighborhood Center, Clecha, GalerÃa de la Raza, Good Samaritan Family Resource Center, La Voz Latina, and the Mission Economic Development Agency.
It does not apply to those selling prepared foods, with or without permits, which includes any food that is cooked or prepared at home, at a restaurant, or on the street before sale to consumers, such as hot dogs or tacos.Â
The legislation will be a narrow law enforcement tool in addition to the Safe Sidewalk Vending Act, a 2018 state law that decriminalized sidewalk vending.
Wiener said he still supports that act, and he remains in favor of barring statewide law enforcement from enforcing violations related to street vending. His legislation only allows citations by the San Francisco Police Department.Â
“There’s a very narrow group of clearly stolen goods that we are going to provide a very narrow role for police to address,” Wiener said.
On Tuesday, Ronen will introduce a resolution at the Board of Supervisors meeting to support Wiener’s measure.
I am against all vending on Mission Street.SF does nothing for the Street Artists at the warf who have licenses and resale permits.They pay their sales tax.I highly doubt any taxes will be paid by the Mission Street vendors since the likelihood of having a State Board of Equalization Permit is ‘0’.Street vending by unpermitted or permitted food vendors hurt the restaurants and food stores that have Board of Health permits.I do not believe SF has the capability to monitor any street vending in the Mission.The random stuff being sold does not make the neighborhood inviting.
Street vending should only be allowed in some parts of downtown, fairs and festivals. Most of these vendors are fencing and selling stolen items and it brings in the drug addicts and dealers all at the same time. They should not allow anymore of this in the Mission.
Agreed.
Permanent Ban should be enforced.
Full stop!
No more rouge vendors blocking the stores and crowing public spaces. Who are these politicians kidding.
15th and mission is a MESS every weekend. People selling unrefrigerated meat stolen from supermarket and whatever else. When Supervisor Ronen and assistant Lerma announced the ban- they knew full well it was unenforceable. 1) SF DPW is in change of enforcing street vending issues. 2) DPW can’t do this without 2 cops present that the same time. and 3) SF is currently down 600+ cops. This was a political stunt pure and simple. Infuriating.
Y0u must be kidding,wh0 is passing these laws,to let this happen,something is terribly br0ken.gavin must go..truly.j