Street Vendors Will Be Restricted from Beach Cities, Possible by Year's End

Street vendors will soon be banned in beach communities.

The city of San Diego has decided to cancel its request for review from the California Coastal Commission, which was causing the delay. The move will expand the ordinance to officially include beach communities, once approved in the City Council process.

Obviously, the move is not in favor of the vendors who make a living selling their merchandise near the Mission Beach Boardwalk. On the other hand, supporters of the ordinance feel it will finally clear the public beach and park areas for the public to fully enjoy, unobstructed.

Remi Primas has been selling clothing for a couple of years along the Mission Beach Boardwalk. He told NBC 7 many of his fellow vendors have become like a community and a family.

“It’s like a family connection. Like the majority of the people out here, we have known each other for some time. How to work together. Try to make sure everyone is in the know,” said Primas.

Primas is permitted and makes sure to follow the existing rules pertaining to vendors. But as of Friday, those rules will change once more. The enacted street vendor ordinance was on hold at the beaches, as the city asked for a review from the coastal commission, which has planning and regulatory oversight of the state's coastal zone. City Council member Jen Campbell canceled that pending request with the commission, citing to avoid confusion with the ordinance timeline.

“I just want like I said before, for the guidelines to be laid out so the people can actually have somewhere to go, know what they need to do,” said Primas.

Pulling that request would set the process of applying existing the vendor regulations to take effect at the beach areas. Essentially banning them from certain areas and requiring permits.

President of the Mission Beach Town Council Larry Webb has been fighting to keep vendors out of Mission Beach for some time.

“Welcome news. But it’s kind of bittersweet because if they could do it today, they could have done it months ago,” said Webb.

It’s unclear what prompted the decision from Campbell’s office, Friday. Or why the coastal commission was deferred to in the first place. NBC7 did not receive a response to that question.

“Families from all over the city want to use this park. This is a major beach area for the city. And when you’ve got vendors blocking the views and taking over much of the park, taking over much of the parking, then it's blocking public access,” said Webb.

But Primas told NBC 7 vendors help attract more business and tourism to the beaches and their existing brick and mortar shops.

“I had one lady ride by yesterday, she was like, 'We love you guys.' It just shows that we are appreciated too,” said Primas.

Appreciated, but, as it turns out, no longer allowed by the city to set up at Mission Beach.

“I’m cautiously optimistic that Mission Beach Park will be returned to use of the public, for families. I’m cautiously optimistic,” said Webb.

The amended ordinance will make its way back to the City Council for a vote and if it passes, a signature by the mayor. The vendor ordinance could take effect in the beach areas sometime before the end of the year.

Campbell's office said the pushcart vendors at the beaches are being considered separately. Their fate will still be under the coastal commission review and could take up to a year.