Chapter 10.36
STOPPING, STANDING AND PARKING – VENDING

Sections:

10.36.010    Definitions.

10.36.020    Regulations for vending from vehicles.

10.36.030    Application for operator’s permit – Contents – Required fee.

10.36.040    Application for vendor’s permit – Contents – Required fee.

10.36.050    Investigation of applications.

10.36.060    Issuance of permit.

10.36.070    Denial of permit.

10.36.080    Revocation of permit.

10.36.090    Appeals.

10.36.100    Exemptions.

10.36.110    Citations for violation of chapter.

10.36.010 Definitions.

The following words and terms as used in this chapter shall have the following meanings:

A. “Goods” or “merchandise” means and includes items and products of every kind and description, including all food, produce and beverage items.

B. “Operator” means any person or entity owning, operating, or otherwise controlling any business involving the vending of goods or merchandise from a vehicle.

C. “Person” means any natural person, any firm, any partnership, any association, corporation, or other entity of any kind or nature.

D. “Public property” means any real property, or interest therein, owned, leased, operated, or otherwise controlled by the city, either wholly or jointly with another public agency, other than a street, alley, parkway or sidewalk.

E. “Residential zone” or “zoned for residential purposes” means any property which, by ordinance of the city, is then currently classified into any one of the residential zones specified in this code in which residential dwellings are an expressly permitted use.

F. “Used for residential purposes” means any lot or parcel of property any portion of which is being lawfully used as a residential dwelling.

G. “Vehicle” means as defined in the Vehicle Code of the state of California, and shall not include any human-powered device.

H. “Vend” or “vending” means the sale or offering for sale of any goods or merchandise to the public from a vehicle.

I. “Vendor” means any person who engages in the act of vending from a vehicle or who drives or otherwise operates any such vehicle for the purpose of vending therefrom. (Ord. 701 § 2 (Exh. 1), 2012; Ord. 686 § 1, 2008)

10.36.020 Regulations for vending from vehicles.

It is unlawful for any person to sell or offer for sale, or operate any vehicle or conduct any business for the purpose of causing the sale of or offering for sale, any goods or merchandise from any vehicle parked, stopped, or standing upon any public street, alley, parkway, sidewalk, or other public property in the city except in accordance with all applicable provisions of this code and in compliance with each of the following requirements:

A. The vending shall be only by means of a vehicle duly registered and licensed by the state of California with an unladen weight of less than sixteen thousand pounds.

B. The vending shall be limited to only public streets, where the posted speed limit is less than thirty-five miles per hour, and shall not be permitted upon any alley, parkway, sidewalk or other public property.

C. Each operator of such vehicle shall possess and at all times display in conspicuous view upon each such vehicle a city business license issued pursuant to this code.

D. Each operator of such vehicle shall possess and at all times display in conspicuous view upon such vehicle an unexpired and unrevoked operator’s permit issued pursuant to PVEMC 10.36.030.

E. It is unlawful for any vendor to sell or offer for sale any goods or merchandise from any vehicle pursuant to this section unless such person shall possess and at all times while conducting such vending maintain upon his or her person an unexpired and unrevoked vendor’s permit issued pursuant to PVEMC 10.36.040.

F. It is unlawful for any operator to permit or allow any vendor under such operator’s control, direction, charge, or employ to vend any goods or merchandise from any vehicle pursuant to this section unless such vendor possesses an unexpired and unrevoked vendor’s permit issued pursuant to PVEMC 10.36.040.

G. Each operator causing the sale of or offering for sale any produce or other food item shall possess and at all times display in conspicuous view upon such vehicle an unexpired and unrevoked public health license issued by the county of Los Angeles pursuant to Los Angeles County Code § 8.04.200 and any other food handling permit or other health permit required by law.

H. No vending from such vehicle shall be permitted within sixty feet of any intersection of two or more public streets nor within five hundred feet of any public or private elementary, junior high, or high school.

I. No vending from such vehicle shall be permitted for a period of time in excess of thirty minutes in any one location and the vehicle must be moved a distance of not less than two hundred fifty feet between consecutive stops at which vending occurs.

J. No minor under the age of sixteen shall ride in or upon a vehicle which such vehicle is engaged in or about to be engaged in vending.

K. No vehicle shall be parked, stopped or left standing in any manner which blocks or impedes vehicular access to any driveway or restricts the free movement of other vehicles upon the public street.

L. Each vehicle shall be equipped with a trash receptacle of a size adequate to accommodate all trash and refuse generated by such vending.

M. Each vendor shall pick up and deposit in the trash receptacle on the vehicle any paper, cups, wrappers, litter, or other refuse of any kind which was a part of the goods or merchandise supplied from the vehicle and which has been left or abandoned within twenty-five feet of such vehicle on any public property other than in a trash receptacle provided for such purposes. No vendor or operator shall dispose of any trash or refuse in any such public or private trash receptacle other than a trash receptacle owned, operated, or otherwise provided by and under the control of such vendor or operator.

N. No vending shall be permitted except after the vehicle has been brought to a complete stop and parked adjacent to the curb in a lawful manner.

O. Any vehicle from which vending occurs pursuant to this section shall have the name, address, and telephone number of the holder of the operator’s permit permanently affixed on both the left and right sides of the vehicle. Such information shall be in letters not less than four inches in height and shall be in contrast to the color of the background upon which the letters are placed.

P. Except for vending from a vehicle on private property to provide meals for those living or working on such private property, no vending shall be permitted by any operator or conducted by any vendor except between the hours of nine a.m. and five p.m. Monday through Friday of each week.

Q. No amplified sound-making devices shall be used to draw attention to, or announce the presence of, such vehicle upon any public street immediately contiguous to any residentially zoned property within the city. Nonamplified sound-making devices shall be permitted for such purposes; provided, that (1) such sounds shall not be made while the vehicle is stopped, parking, or otherwise in a stationary position; and (2) such sounds shall not be audible to a person with normal hearing for a distance of more than two hundred feet.

R. Any operator or vendor using scales or any other weighing or measuring devices shall have all such scales and devices inspected and sealed by the weights and measures division of Los Angeles County.

S. All foods, beverages, utensils and equipment offered for sale or utilized on vending vehicles shall at all times be protected from contamination and pollution by dust, dirt, flies, vermin, rodents, animals, unnecessary handling, droplet infection, overhead leakage, insecticides, rodenticide, cleaning compounds, and other poisonous or deleterious substances, and all other forms of contamination.

T. No vendor may sell or offer for sale any food or beverage for immediate consumption by a customer unless the vendor and the vendor’s customers have permission to use a permanent or temporary permitted sanitary toilet facility which is located within two hundred fifty feet from the location where the food or beverages are to be sold or offered for sale. (Ord. 701 § 2 (Exh. 1), 2012; Ord. 686 § 1, 2008)

10.36.030 Application for operator’s permit – Contents – Required fee.

Any person desiring to obtain an operator’s permit to conduct or otherwise operate the business of vending goods or merchandise from a vehicle pursuant to this section shall make application to the planning department of the city. Such application shall be accompanied by a nonrefundable application fee in such amount as established by resolution of the city council. Any such permit shall be required to be renewed annually and a separate nonrefundable application fee paid yearly for such renewal application. Each applicant for an operator’s permit shall furnish the following information and documentation as part of or in conjunction with such application:

A. The present or proposed address from which the business is to be conducted;

B. The full true name under which the business will be conducted;

C. The full true name and any other names used by the applicant;

D. The present residence and business addresses and telephone numbers of the applicant;

E. A description of the goods or merchandise which the business will vend;

F. The number of vehicles to be owned, operated, or controlled by the applicant and the makes, body styles, years, serial and engine numbers, state license plate numbers, and names and addresses of the registered and legal owners of each vehicle;

G. A description of the logo, color scheme, insignia and any other distinguishing characteristics of applicant’s vehicles;

H. The full true names and residence addresses of all persons employed or intended to be employed or with whom the applicant has contracted or intends to contract as drivers and/or vendors and the respective capacities in which they will be employed, including the California driver’s license number of all persons who will be employed or engaged as drivers of vehicles in conjunction with such business;

I. The applicant, if an individual, or each of the directors, officers or stockholders holding more than five percent of the stock of the corporation, or each of the partners including limited partners, or profit interest holders, managers, or other persons principally in charge of the operation of the existing or proposed business, shall also furnish the following information:

1. California driver’s license or Social Security number of the above-described natural persons;

2. Date of birth of the above-described natural persons;

3. The permit history of the above-described natural persons for the three-year period immediately preceding the date of the filing of the application, including whether such person, in previously operating in this or any other city, county, state, or territory, has ever had any similar license or permit, or franchise, revoked or suspended, and if so, the circumstances of such suspension or revocation; and

4. All criminal convictions, including pleas of guilty or nolo contendere, suffered by the applicant including ordinance violations, stating the date, place, nature, and sentence of each such conviction;

J. When any change occurs regarding the written information required by subsections A through I of this section prior to issuance of a permit, the applicant shall give written notification of such change to the city’s planning department within two weeks after such change; and

K. Such other identification and information as the city manager, or his/her designee, may require in order to discover the truth of the matters required to be set forth in the application. (Ord. 701 § 2 (Exh. 1), 2012; Ord. 686 § 1, 2008)

10.36.040 Application for vendor’s permit – Contents – Required fee.

Any person desiring to obtain a vendor’s permit to engage in the vending of goods or merchandise from a vehicle, or driving of such vehicle, pursuant to this section shall make application to the city planning department. The application shall be accompanied by a nonrefundable application fee in such amount as established by resolution of the city council. Any such permit shall be required to be renewed annually and a separate nonrefundable application fee paid yearly for such renewal application. Each applicant for a vendor’s permit, or an operator or applicant for an operator’s permit on behalf of such proposed vendor, shall furnish the following information and documentation as part of or in conjunction with such application:

A. The present or proposed address from which the business is to be conducted;

B. The full true name under which the business will be conducted;

C. The full true name and any other names used by the applicant;

D. The present residence address and telephone number of the applicant;

E. California driver’s license number of the applicant;

F. Acceptable written proof that the applicant is at least eighteen years of age;

G. The applicant’s height, weight, color of eyes and hair, and date of birth;

H. The business, occupation or employment history of the applicant from the three-year period immediately preceding the date of the application;

I. The permit history of the applicant, for the three-year period immediately preceding the date of the filing of the application, including whether such applicant, in previously operating in this or any other city, county, state, or territory, has ever had any similar license or permit or franchise revoked or suspended, and, if so, the circumstances of such suspension or revocation;

J. All criminal convictions, including pleas of guilty or nolo contendere, suffered by the applicant, including ordinance violations and traffic offenses;

K. When any change occurs regarding the written information required by subsections A through J of this section prior to issuance of a permit, the applicant shall give written notification of such change to the city finance department within two weeks after such change; and

L. Such other identification and information as the city manager or his/her designee may require in order to discover the truth of the matters required to be set forth in the application.

If the applicant is an individual who intends to own, operate and drive his or her own vehicle, then it is not necessary to pay a fee for the vendor’s permit application separate from the fee period for the operator’s permit application. (Ord. 701 § 2 (Exh. 1), 2012; Ord. 686 § 1, 2008)

10.36.050 Investigation of applications.

The city planning department shall refer all applications for operator’s permits and vendor’s permits made pursuant to this chapter to the city’s police department for investigation and recommendation. The police department shall have a reasonable period of time within which to investigate the application and background of the applicant for a vendor’s permit or an operator’s permit. The police department shall, within thirty days after the date of the filing of the application, render a written recommendation to the city planning department as to approval or denial of the application for the permit based upon the criteria set forth in PVEMC 10.36.060. (Ord. 701 § 2 (Exh. 1), 2012; Ord. 686 § 1, 2008)

10.36.060 Issuance of permit.

The city planning department within ten days after receiving the application and aforementioned recommendation shall grant the vendor’s permit or operator’s permit only if it finds all of the following requirements have been met:

A. The required fees have been paid;

B. The application conforms in all respects to the provisions of this chapter;

C. The applicant has not made a material misrepresentation of fact in the application;

D. The applicant has not had a similar permit denied or revoked by the city within a period of one year prior to the date of such application; and

E. The applicant, if an individual, or any of the directors, officers or stockholders holding more than five percent of the stock of the corporation, or any of the partners, including limited partners, or profit interest holder, manager or other person principally in charge of the operation of the existing or proposed business of vending from a vehicle, or a natural person employed or contracted with to be a driver or vendor, has not been convicted or pleaded nolo contendere or guilty, within five years prior to his application for a permit, to a misdemeanor or felony crime of moral turpitude or drug-related misdemeanor or felony crime, including but not limited to: the sale of a controlled substance specified in Cal. Health & Saf. Code §§ 11054 through 11058; the sale, distribution or display of harmful or obscene matter; indecent exposure; or, in the case of applications for a vendor’s permit by a person who will be a driver of a vehicle pursuant to this section, alcohol- or drug-related traffic offenses. The investigating city employee is specifically authorized to obtain state summary criminal history record information as provided for in Cal. Pen. Code § 11105. Any complaint for the above-listed charges pending before a court of law shall cause the application to be considered pending until adjudication of the complaint. (Ord. 701 § 2 (Exh. 1), 2012; Ord. 686 § 1, 2008)

10.36.070 Denial of permit.

A. If the city planning department does not find all of the requirements set forth in PVEMC 10.36.030, 10.36.040, and 10.36.060, as applicable, have been met, then the city’s director of planning, or his/her designee, shall deny the application for the vendor’s or operator’s permit. In the event the application for the permits is denied by the city’s director of planning, written notice of such denial shall be given to the applicant specifying the ground or grounds of such denial. Notice of denial of the application for the permit shall be deemed to have been served upon the date it is personally served on the applicant or when deposited in the United States mail with postage prepaid and addressed to the applicant at the address as set forth in the application for the permit.

B. Any applicant whose application for a vendor’s or operator’s permit has been denied by the city’s director of planning may appeal such denial to the city manager by filing a written notice of appeal with the city’s planning department within ten days following the date of service of the decision and payment of the appeal fee prescribed by resolution of the city council. The date of filing of the notice of appeal shall be the date the notice and appeal fee are received by the city’s planning department.

C. No person or entity whose permit is finally denied shall be eligible to apply for a new permit for a period of one year following such final denial. (Ord. 701 § 2 (Exh. 1), 2012; Ord. 686 § 1, 2008)

10.36.080 Revocation of permit.

A. Any vendor’s or operator’s permit may be revoked by the city’s planning department for good cause shown, including but not necessarily limited to any of the following reasons:

1. Falsification of any information supplied by the permittee upon which issuance of the permit was based;

2. Failure of the permittee, or any employees or subcontractors of the permittee, to comply with the regulations set forth in this chapter;

3. Conviction of a violation, or a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, by the permittee, or any employee, subcontractor or independent contractor of the permittee, of any state law or municipal ordinance while in the course of conducting vending operations from a vehicle pursuant to the permit; or

4. Conviction of a violation, or a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, by the permittee of any applicable provision or requirement of this chapter;

5. No revocation shall become effective until expiration of the appeal period specified in PVEMC 10.36.090. Notification of the permit holder shall be made either by personal delivery or by mail with proof of service addressed to the permit holder at such permit holder’s residence address as set forth on the application for a permit. Service shall be deemed made on the permit holder on the date personally delivered or on the date of mailing. A permit holder may appeal such revocation to the city manager by filing a written notice of appeal with the city finance department within ten days following the date of service of such decision and payment of the appeal fee as prescribed by resolution of the city council. The date of filing of said notice of appeal shall be the date said notice and appeal fee are received by the city finance department. If a timely appeal is filed, then the revocation shall be stayed pending the decision of the city manager. Otherwise the suspension or revocation shall become effective immediately upon expiration of said appeal period.

B. No person or entity whose permit is revoked shall be eligible to apply for a new permit for a period of one year following such revocation. (Ord. 701 § 2 (Exh. 1), 2012; Ord. 686 § 1, 2008)

10.36.090 Appeals.

Upon receipt of a timely appeal pursuant to PVEMC 10.36.070 or 10.36.080, the city manager, or his/her designated representative, shall hear such appeal within twenty days following the date of such appeal and shall give the appellant not less than five days’ advance notice of the date of such hearing. The decision of the city manager shall be based upon the same criteria as set forth in this chapter which are applicable to the issuance or revocation of such permit. The appellant shall be notified of the decision of the city manager by mailed, written notice. The decision of the city manager shall be final. No revocation of a permit pursuant to this chapter shall be deemed effective during the pendency of a timely filed appeal until the date of mailing of the city manager’s decision. (Ord. 701 § 2 (Exh. 1), 2012; Ord. 686 § 1, 2008)

10.36.100 Exemptions.

The requirements of this chapter shall not apply to the following:

A. Any person delivering any goods or merchandise by vehicle where such goods or merchandise have been ordered in advance for such delivery from any business located at a permanent location and which goods or merchandise are being delivered from such location to the customer by vehicle, regardless of the point of sale thereof;

B. Any person engaged in the vending of goods or merchandise on public property where such person has been authorized by the city to engage in such activity by a permit, lease, real property license, agreement, or other entitlements issued by the city for such purpose; or

C. Charitable solicitations conducted by or for nonprofit organizations exempt under 26 U.S.C. Section 501(c)(3). (Ord. 701 § 2 (Exh. 1), 2012; Ord. 686 § 1, 2008)

10.36.110 Citations for violation of chapter.

A. All city police officers and code enforcement officers or other employees of the police so designated are authorized to give citations to any and all persons violating any provision of this chapter.

B. All city police officers are authorized to arrest any and all persons violating any provision of this chapter in accordance with applicable law. (Ord. 701 § 2 (Exh. 1), 2012; Ord. 686 § 1, 2008)