Weekend Education & Enforcement on Vendor Permitting

Published on August 09, 2024

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Mobile vendors add character and bring a cultural element to the community, providing diverse food options and other products and services. Vendor permitting is a necessary process to provide fair access for mobile vendors to designated vendor locations across the City and ensures compliance with local, State and Federal regulations, including those that pertain to the health and safety of the community; this includes maintaining perishable food at safe temperatures and fire safety.

Due to an increase in unpermitted vending in the City, the Salinas Code Enforcement Division has been conducting weekend education and enforcement across the City. Over the last three weeks, they made contact with over 100 unpermitted vendors and provided education on the permitting process and issued citations. The City learned that many of the unpermitted vendors were from other cities as far as Sacramento and Bakersfield. Vendors from out of the area can secure a permit in Salinas, but they are required to go through the proper permitting procedures with the City, and in some cases, are required to obtain a permit with the County and State depending on the type of mobile business they operate.

The Salinas Code Vendor Enforcement Team (SCVET) is continuing weekend education and enforcement and will be evaluating the effectiveness of the program over the next several months.

To report an unpermitted vendor, residents can email the Code Enforcement Division at:

codeenforcement@ci.salinas.ca.us