During Tuesday night’s Santa Ana City Council meeting, neighborhood leaders, residents, restaurant owners and food truck operators came together to support the continued and focused enforcement of unsafe and illegal stationary sidewalk food vendors, sharing the negative impacts these vendors are having on the community.

The Santa Ana City Council directed City staff to draft a resolution opposing unsafe and unpermitted stationary sidewalk food vendors and further prioritized enforcement of existing regulations to preserve the quality of life in Santa Ana.

The City will continue in its legislative advocacy efforts to protect public health and safety. The resolution will appear at a future City Council meeting.

Councilman Phil Bacerra had this response to the resolution news on Facebook:

I want to thank the majority of my City of Santa Ana – Municipal Government City Council colleagues who joined me in directing our City Manager to have Code Enforcement and the Santa Ana Police Department enforce the City and State Codes as they pertain to the stationary sidewalk vendors who do not have a County Health Permit, serve food unfit for human consumption, and block our city’s sidewalks.

If you see a stationary sidewalk vendor operating in Santa Ana, please call SAPD Dispatch at (714) 834-4211.

I appreciate my Council colleagues who actually understand the limits of where State Law can hinder city enforcement abilities, but also know that State Law does not prevent our code enforcement and police from protecting our residents.

Editor’s Note: The Council Members who support this resolution include Bacerra, Thai Viet Phan, David Penaloza and Mayor Valerie Amezcua.