Cliff Notes on the News

Cliff Notes on the News

Veteran San Diego news director and reporter Cliff Albert shares his thoughts on the latest news and stories each weekday at 7:22am. Full Bio

 

What City Street Vendor Ordinance Will Mean for Balboa Park

More letters to the editor and more talk show callers are again expressing concern over the issue of street vendors in San Diego.

That’s despite a new city ordinance going into effect in mid-June aimed at regulating street vendors and pushcart operators.

Anyone who spends time visiting Balboa Park or San Diego’s beach boardwalk sees the problem.

For the last year or so, the complaints have been coming in…about the dozens of sidewalk vendors set up along the Prado in Balboa Park that they say have changed the culture and character of the city’s historic park. And along the boardwalks, the vendors have increased the clutter for boardwalk users and the complaints from the permanent businesses that pay rent and are being hurt economically they say.

Despite the backlash, city council members last week agreed to drop the fee for the street vendors to just $38 dollars a year, down from $230 dollars a year

The new law does regulate the size, space and distance where they can set up.

But there are still concerns about Balboa Park and some who say the city needs to more strictly follow an already existing state law that allows cities to set rules within parks to an “undue concentration of commercial activity which would unreasonably interfere with the scenic and natural characteristics of the park.”

With the new street vendor ordinance in San Diego going into effect in mid-June, a stroll along the Prado this summer will tell us if it’s working.

(photo Getty Images)

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Photo: Getty Images


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