Tulare County staff read its latest version of an ordinance last Thursday that would regulate mobile food vendors, but more than 50 vendors present at the meeting seemed to agree that the new rules were hard to stomach.

Following a lengthy reading of the entire version of the ordinance in both English and Spanish, David Lebeouf, an attorney representing about 30 mobile vendors, told the committee that the ordinance completely ignored issues raised in previous meetings with vendors.

ìTheir fears and perceptions are that you are trying to put them out of business,î he said. ìUnfortunately, those perceptions are becoming a reality today.î

Lebeouf said the law prevents his clients from doing business by prohibiting them to operate within 1,000 feet of a restaurant, limiting them to one hour at any location, requiring written permission from all private property owners and forcing them to be at least 20 feet away from the paved edge of any public roadway.

ìThere is case law that says you cannot put a restraint of trade on these people,î Lebeouf said.

Lebeouf said all of these issues were raised by himself and others at previous meetings, but that the county wasnít listening to their concerns.

ìIs the Board [of Supervisors] asking you to hold this meeting for show, or do you really want to help your constituents?,î he asked. ìNot one person said that one hour was plenty of time or that 1,000 feet seemed just right.

ìI donít know how many powerful restaurant owners are in this town, but they are not more powerful than the law.î

Delores Gomez, a restaurant owner in Pixley, said she thinks that the vendors should have to pay some of the fees she is required to pay for her business.

ìThey donít have to pay a business fee, they donít have to charge sales tax and they donít workers comp or insurance for their employees,î she said. ìThose taxes go back to pay for the roads they park on and the schools that educate their kids.î

Louise Rambo, a member of the Pixley Town Council and Chamber of Commerce, said there are seven licensed restaurants in Pixley and three taco trucks. ìThatís a lot of food for such a community the size of Pixley.

ìVendors donít collect sales tax or pay utility taxes but they are extended the protection of the Sheriff and fire department. We support Pixley businesses and feel they are getting the short end of the stick as they cope with competition.î

Juadrico Gomez, who owns a taco truck in Pixley, said health workers, Sheriffís deputies and firefighters all eat at his truck and no one has ever gotten sick.

ìIt seems like you keep adding rules until you force us out of business,î he said.

Lynn Gregory, senior administrative analyst for the Tulare County, told those in attendance that the purpose of the ordinance was not to put anyone out of business but to address health and safety concerns.

ìWe realize the majority of people follow the law and donít have an issues but we have to ensure that people are making it safe for their customers as well as workers,î she said.

Gregory said the one hour rule is not arbitrary, but mandated by state law for mobile vendors that do not have access to restroom facilities with running hot water.

Miriam Lopez of Visalia said she was in the process of trying to unionize the mobile vendors and keep them updated on similar laws. She said in some communities, such as Cutler-Orosi, the entire community is only a mile long, so how were vendors supposed to keep a distance of 1,000 feet.

ìWe are not against you, we just want you to be fair,î Lopez said. ìPlease, put yourselves in their shoes.î

Eric Coyne, spokesman for the Board of Supervisors, said the ordinance was not about making sure there was a fair playing field between restaurants and mobile vendors, but rather to ensure that everyone was meeting health and safety standards.

ìThe business license is probably going to be less than $100, so it is not exhorbitant,î he said. ìThe bottom line is we want to make sure people arenít going to get sick when they eat somewhere.î

Coyne said the county has received many complaints from private property owners about trespassing, noise, trash and fecal matter.

ìThe real injured person here is the property owners,î Coyne said. ìHaving written permission makes trespassing enforceable.î

The ordinance requires that all mobile food vendors apply for a business license, which they are not currently required to do. In addition to the license, vendors would be required to have written permission from private property owners to locate there and stay for longer than one hour, to clean up all trash, tents, tables and chairs, to park more than 1,000 feet from licensed restaurants, keep a setback of at least 20 feet from public roadways, only park on roads with speed limit of 35 mph or less and to refrain from using private utilities while on private property.

Exceptions to the rule are wholesalers calling upon retail businesses, vendors participating in special events already licensed, certified farmersí markets, swap meets, non-profits and home businesses.

ìWe understand that this may be the only source of food in remote or industrial areas, but they have to follow the rules and we have to enforce them,î Coyne said.

The law will come back to the Board of Supervisors sometime in the next six months, but no date has been set.

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