Will San Diego Street Vendor Ordinance Solve the Problem?

Will San Diego's new street vendor ordinance work?  Will it solve the problems it was created to solve?

That’s what a lot of San Diego citizens, business owners and even public officials are asking after the city’s new street vendor ordinance went into effect this week.

City Council members debated it for a couple of years before approving it. Local business owners have complained about it for longer than that.

And so have many San Diego residents who have not liked the clutter of vendors selling everything from t-shirts to tacos in Balboa Park and some of the beach areas.

Balboa Park has looked almost at times like the midway at the Del Fair Fair while Mission Beach Park has reminded residents of a swap meet with little room for picnics or recreation.

So the goal of the new ordinance was to limit where street vendors can set up and where they can’t…and regulate how they are set up and have them pay a small fee in order to be a street vendor.

But now with questions about how it will be enforced and even whether it will be enforced, there worries the new ordinance won’t accomplish what it is supposed to accomplish.

With the ordinance having been in effect for only a couple of days, it’s too early to know. Everyone will be watching to see what happens.

(Photo credit Terry Williams)