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SR-04-09-2013-7C - 208-019/400-15City Council Meeting: April 9, 2013 Agenda Item: 7_C To: Mayor and City Council From: Jacqueline Seabrooks, Chief of Police Subject: Proposed Ordinance Limiting Late Night Vending On Main Street — Supplemental Report Recommended Action Staff recommends that the City Council introduce for first reading the attached Ordinance amending Section 6.36.095 of the Santa Monica Municipal Code in order to narrowly expand the area, time, and place of late night vending as is currently prohibited on Main Street. Executive Summary The following supplemental report is to amend the original staff report to reflect the proposed amended ordinance by replacing "Columbus Day' (pg.6) as one of the prohibited holidays with Cinco de Mayo, May 5th. This change to the original staff report will accurately reflect the proposed ordinance amendment. In recent years, commercial vending activities from vehicles, particularly food trucks, have grown exponentially within the City. The impact of this increase in vending activities has been most acute on Main Street during late night hours, when food trucks operating near alcohol serving establishments attract large crowds of persons exiting Main Street bars during their closing hours. In light of these weighty safety concerns, in November 2011, the Council adopted a narrow ordinance (Ordinance 2381 (CCS)) prohibiting vending from vehicles on Main Street, between Ocean Park Boulevard and Marine Street, during the hours of 1:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Ordinance 2381 has proven to be an effective tool in protecting public safety along Main Street. However, the same safety concerns remain apparent during certain holidays popularly associated with alcohol consumption that fall on a week day other than Friday or Saturday. 1 Discussion Staff recommends that the ordinance amendment expands the vending prohibition on Main Street, during the hours of 1:00 am to 3:00 am, to include the half block (approximately four parking spaces) between Marine Street and the City's southern border with the City of Los Angeles, and on holidays that draw large crowds to drinking establishments. Holidays would include: New Year's Day, Valentine's Day, Saint Patrick's Day, Halloween, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, and Cinco de Mayo. Financial Impacts & Budget Actions There is no immediate financial impact or budget action necessary as a result of the recommended action. Existing City staff will be utilized to enforce the requirements of this ordinance, should it be adopted by Council. Prepared by: Daniel Salerno, Police Captain Approved: Forwarded to Council: Attachments: PROPOSED ORDINANCE K Rod Gould City Manager ID —D City of City Council Report Santa Monica' City Council Meeting: April 9, 2013 Agenda Item:-7-C, To: Mayor and City Council From: Jacqueline Seabrooks, Chief of Police Subject: Proposed Ordinance Limiting Late Night Vending On Main Street Recommended Action Staff recommends that the City Council introduce for first reading the attached Ordinance amending Section 6.36.095 of the Santa Monica Municipal Code in order to narrowly expand the area, time and place of late night vending activity is currently prohibited on Main Street. Executive Summary In recent years, commercial vending activities from vehicles, particularly food trucks, have grown exponentially within the City. The impact of this increase in vending activities has been most acute on Main Street during late night hours, when food trucks operating near alcohol serving establishments attract large crowds of persons exiting Main Street bars during their closing hours. These large crowds create extreme congestion on the narrow sidewalks along Main Street, force pedestrians onto the roadway, and pose significant safety hazards to the public. In light of these weighty safety concerns, in November 2011, the Council adopted a narrow ordinance (Ordinance 2381 (CCS)) prohibiting vending from vehicles on Main Street, between Ocean Park Boulevard and Marine Street, during the hours of 1:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m., on Saturdays and Sundays. Since then, enforcement staff has found Ordinance 2381 to be an effective tool in protecting public safety along Main Street. However, the same safety concerns that precipitated Ordinance 2381 remain apparent during certain holidays popularly associated with alcohol consumption that may fall on a week day, and further south on Main Street (between Marine Street and the City's southern limits). This proposed ordinance narrowly expands the vending prohibition on Main Street to address these remaining safety concerns. 1 Background California law specifically authorizes local governments to adopt laws, in the interest of public safety, which regulate the time, place, and manner of vending from vehicles upon any street. See Government Code Section 22455. The legislative history of Section 22455 lends furthers support to local regulation based on safety. Senator Calderon, author of Section 22455's latest amendments, indicated that while cities and counties have long had mobile vending regulations, those had been under fierce legal attack during the last decade. Section 22455 was amended into its current form to ensure that "cities and counties can enforce ordinances necessary to maintain the health and safety of patrons and streets alike." Consistent with Section 22455's grant of legislative authority and Santa Monica's constitutionally granted Charter City police powers, the Council has adopted various City wide vending regulations. See SMMC Chapter 6.36. These regulations were designed to protect public health and safety, and to ensure safe pedestrian and motorist traffic. These regulations establish location limitations (e.g. safe vending distance away from bus stops, intersections, other vendors, etc.), cleanup responsibilities, and noise standards. The City's Police Department ( "SMPD ") and Code Enforcement Division enforce these regulations. Recently, the Council has had several occasions to consider the impact of commercial vendors on the City's neighborhoods, streets and sidewalks. A January 7 2010 Council Information Item provided information on local legal requirements for food trucks to congregate and vend from an off - street location (e.g. parking lots). On January 19, 2010, Council directed staff to examine options for authorizing food truck vending operations on private property and to propose a mechanism to allow these trucks to operate on a temporary basis, subject to operational conditions. During this test period, staff would assess the potential long -term impacts and determine if on -going operation was warranted. Furthermore, an August 11, 2010, Council Information Item K outlined the existing Temporary Use Permit process as the permit mechanism to authorize short -term off - street food vending operations. On June 21, 2011, Council conducted a study session on the impacts of commercial vending on the City's neighborhoods, streets and sidewalks. Finally, on November 22, 2011, the Council adopted Ordinance 2381 (CCS) prohibiting vending from vehicles on Main Street, between Ocean Park Boulevard and .Marine Street, during the hours of 1:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Discussion While Southern California has long enjoyed the presence of mobile vending trucks, which traditionally served remote business or construction sites; mobile vending activities have exponentially increased in recent years. Currently, approximately 213 vending trucks are licensed to operate in Santa Monica. In addition to this increase in truck volume, there have also been significant changes in the vending trucks' hours of operations. For instance, vending during late night hours has become increasingly prevalent. These changes have significantly impacted the area of Main Street between Ocean Park Boulevard and the City's southern border with Los Angeles. This area of Main Street contains a significant number of alcohol serving establishments (e.g. bars and nightclubs) which attract large numbers of patrons. Besides being an entertainment destination, Main Street is also a major north -south thoroughfare within the City, which often carries significant vehicular traffic. It contains very narrow sidewalks and virtually no parkways. Those narrow sidewalks support numerous improvements, including street trees, bike racks, newsracks, bus stop benches, and other street furniture. The alcohol serving establishments are significant draws for mobile vendors. Large numbers of vendors operate on Main Street between 1:00 a.m. and 3:00 a.m., in an effort to attract customers who are leaving the alcohol serving establishments. This 3 phenomenon is particularly acute during Friday and Saturday evenings and during holidays, when the Main Street alcohol serving establishments are often operating at maximum capacity. As patrons, including intoxicated patrons, depart the alcohol serving establishments, they are attracted to the mobile vendors. This often creates huge crowds of persons, standing or sitting on the sidewalks and socializing while they eat, that spread throughout the streets and sidewalks along Main Street. This causes Main Street sidewalks to be virtually impassable and driveways to be blocked. Persons, intoxicated or otherwise, are forced to navigate off the sidewalks and enter the roadway in order to travel up and down Main Street. This creates significant dangers of collisions in the roadways, especially when intoxicated persons are involved. Moreover, persons who purchase eatables from such mobile vendors often consume them immediately afterwards. Due to the significant crowds and the narrow sidewalks on Main Street, persons often choose to sit on street curbs or even parking spaces to consume foods. Such persons, while sitting, are not easily seen by drivers of vehicles attempting to enter or exit their parking spaces and may be struck by such vehicles. Ordinance 2381 (CCS), which prohibits vending from vehicles on Main Street, between Ocean Park Boulevard and Marine Street, during the hours of 1:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, has significantly reduced the public safety risks articulated above. However, Ordinance 2381's vending prohibition is not effective during holidays popularly associated with alcohol consumption that may fall on a week day, nor does it address the same safety concerns that remain present just south of Marine Street (the half block of Main Street between Marine Street and the City's southern limits encompassing four on- street parking spaces). These four parking spaces sit directly in front of an alcohol serving establishment, 31TEN. The elimination of on- street vending between Ocean Park Boulevard and Marine Street has caused vendor trucks to covet and compete for these four remaining spaces. The collection of vending trucks at these 0 spaces tended to draw huge gatherings, attracting patrons departing from virtually every alcohol serving establishment on Main Street. Accordingly, staff brings this proposed ordinance to Council in an effort to address the above public safety hazards caused by late night commercial vending on Main Street. The proposed ordinance narrowly expands, the vending prohibition on Main Street, during the hours of 1:00 am to 3:00 am, to include the half block (approximately four parking spaces) between Marine Street and the City's southern border with the City of Los Angeles, and on holidays that draw large crowds to drinking establishments. Such holidays would include: New Year's Day, Valentine's Day, Saint . Patrick's Day, Halloween, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, and Columbus Day. This proposed ordinance is designed to protect the rights of the vendors by targeting only the time and place within the City where the health and safety dangers posed by commercial vending is the greatest. Thus, this proposed ordinance leaves open ample opportunities for vendors to vend both on Main Street, aside from the limited time restrictions, and in other areas throughout the City. If approved by Council, this Ordinance would become effective 30 days from its second reading. As has been the practice with other new City enforcement initiatives, SMPD will implement the Ordinance gradually, first through issuance of advisories and warnings. If the warnings do not bring about compliance, SMPD staff can use the full panoply of administrative and criminal enforcement tools available to bring about compliance. Public Outreach Housing and Economic Development Department staff reports that the Main Street Business Improvement Association and the Southern California Mobile Food Vendors Association have been notified of this proposed ordinance. At the time of notification, the Association spokesperson did not express any opposition. 5 Financial Impacts & Budget Actions There is no immediate financial impact or budget action necessary as a result of the recommended action. Existing City staff will be utilized to enforce the requirements of this ordinance, should it be adopted by Council. Prepared by: Daniel Salerno, Police Captain Approved: Attachments: PROPOSED ORDINANCE FT Forwarded to Council: Rod Gould City Manager Council Meeting: April 9, 2013 Santa Monica, California ORDINANCE NUMBER (CCS) (City Council Series) AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA AMENDING SECTION 6.36.095 OF THE SANTA MONICA MUNICIPAL CODE RELATED TO LATE NIGHT VENDING ON MAIN STREET WHEREAS, the City consists of just eight square miles of coastal land which is home to 90,000 residents, the job site of 300,000 workers, and a destination for as many as 500,000 visitors on weekends and holidays; and WHEREAS, the City's unusual density necessitates special efforts to preserve the free and safe flow of pedestrian, bicycle, and vehicular traffic; and WHEREAS, congestion is particularly problematic on Main Street, because it contains very narrow sidewalks, on street parallel parking, and virtually no parkways; and WHEREAS, the narrow sidewalks on Main Street support numerous improvements which enhance the pedestrian experience but also limit circulation, such as street trees, bike racks, newsracks, bus stop benches, and other street furniture; and WHEREAS, public sidewalks are created and maintained for the primary purpose of enabling pedestrians to safely and efficiently move about from place to place; and WHEREAS, ensuring the unobstructed flow of pedestrian traffic on sidewalks promotes public safety by minimizing the risk that pedestrians will jostle one another, 1 collide, trip, or fall, and ensuring that persons may move safely away from dangerous situations which may occur on or near public streets and sidewalks; and WHEREAS, ensuring the free flow of pedestrian traffic is particularly important to the safety of the elderly, the very young, the disabled, vision - impaired persons, and others who are less able to navigate through crowds and around obstacles or hazards and who are particularly jeopardized by having to navigate off and onto curbs when sidewalks are blocked; and WHEREAS, hindrances to the free flow of pedestrian traffic on sidewalks may interfere with the work of public safety personnel seeking immediate access to emergency situations and with other work vital to the public health and safety, such as cleaning and maintenance; and WHEREAS, in recent years, persons have begun conducting commercial vending, mainly food sales, from vehicles while parked adjacent to alcohol serving establishments (e.g., bars and nightclubs) on Main Street, well into the late night hours; and WHEREAS, these late night vending activities attract large stationary crowds, including persons exiting from adjacent alcohol serving establishments who may be experiencing varying degrees of alcohol intoxication; and WHEREAS, persons intoxicated while in public are often unable to care for their own safety, are particularly accident - prone, and can endanger others; and WHEREAS, such large crowds have created extreme congestion on the narrow sidewalks along Main Street; and 2 WHEREAS, such extreme sidewalk congestion coupled with the large size of the vending vehicles have forced persons, both sober and intoxicated, to leave the sidewalks and walk in the street, not only across, but also up and down Main Street, and to hail public or private transportation from within the street; and WHEREAS, these late night vending activities, coupled with a lack of seating facilities for sidewalk food consumption, have caused persons to sit on sidewalks, street curbs, and even parking spaces to consume foods; and WHEREAS, late night vending on Main Street creates potential health concerns as there is a lack of available public restrooms on or near Main Street during such hours; and WHEREAS, this proliferation of late night vending near alcohol serving establishments has created significant threats to public safety, and damages the public welfare; and WHEREAS, blockage of public sidewalks on Main Street during the late night hours poses serious safety hazards because pedestrians, especially intoxicated pedestrians, who cannot pass freely along the sidewalks frequently step into the street where they may be struck by vehicles or cause collisions between vehicles; and WHEREAS, persons, especially intoxicated persons, crossing into the middle of streets to hail public or private transportation at night time, are exposed to significant danger of collision with vehicles; and WHEREAS, disease may be transmitted to persons sitting on sidewalks while eating because people or animals expectorate, urinate or defecate on sidewalks; and 3 WHEREAS, persons sitting on curbs or parking spaces while consuming food at night time are not easily seen by drivers of vehicles attempting to enter or exit their parking spaces and may be struck by such vehicles; and WHEREAS, the City's streets and sidewalks are not intended, designed or maintained for dining without tables and chairs; and WHEREAS, maintaining public safety on Main Street during the late night hours presents special challenges to the City's public safety personnel, particularly in times of emergency, because of the very large crowds, narrow roadways, narrow sidewalks, limited ingress and egress, and fixed impediments to circulation; and WHEREAS, there are numerous other places within the City where vending from vehicles may safely take place during late night hours without unduly interfering with the flow of pedestrian or vehicular traffic, threatening public safety or harming the public welfare; and WHEREAS, in order to protect public safety, the City Council adopted Ordinance 2381 (CCS) which prohibits late night vending on Main Street between Ocean Park Boulevard and Marine Street, during the hours of 1:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays; and WHEREAS, since the adoption of Ordinance 2381, staff has continued vigorous enforcement activities on Main Street, and experience has shown that the above safety concerns remain significant on holidays popularly associated with alcohol consumption that may fall on a week day, and thus are not currently covered by Ordinance 2381; and Cl WHEREAS, enforcement experience has also demonstrated that the same safety risks described above, exist in the half block of Main Street (between Marine Street and the City's southern boundary) not currently covered by Ordinance 2381; and WHEREAS, this half -block of Main Street contains four on- street parking spaces that sit directly in front an alcohol serving establishment; and WHEREAS, these parking spaces are very frequently jammed with food trucks and their patrons during late night hours; and WHEREAS, a limited expansion of Ordinance 2381's vending prohibition to include the half -block and the holidays popularly associated with alcohol consumption that may fall on a week day is necessary to protect public safety; and WHEREAS, California Vehicle Code Section 22455 specifically authorizes local authorities to adopt laws, in the interest of public safety, which regulate the time, place, and manner of vending from vehicles upon any street; and WHEREAS, the City Council hereby determines that it is necessary to exercise this authority as set forth in this ordinance in order to protect public safety. NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. Section 6.36.095 of the Santa Monica Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows: 6.36.095 Prohibition of late night vending on Main Street No person shall vend from vehicles, including unhitched trailers, on Main Street, between Ocean Park Boulevard and Marine Streai the City's southern boundary, during the hours of 1:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. on Saturdays -a44d Sundays, St. Patrick's Day, 5 Valentine's Day, Cinco De Mayo Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day Labor Day, Halloween, and New Year's Day. Section 2. Any provision of the Santa Monica Municipal Code or appendices thereto inconsistent with the provisions of this Ordinance, to the extent of such inconsistencies and no further, is hereby repealed or modified to that extent necessary to effect the provisions of this Ordinance. Section 3. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this Ordinance and each and every section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase not declared invalid or unconstitutional without regard to whether any portion of the ordinance would be subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional. Section 4. The Mayor shall sign and the City Clerk shall attest to the passage of this Ordinance. The City Clerk shall cause the same to be published once in the official newspaper within 15 days after its adoption. This Ordinance shall become effective 30 days from its adoption. . APPROVED AS TO FORM: 9 Revised 7 -C From: Jacqueline Seabrooks, Chief of Police Subject: Proposed Ordinance Limiting Late Night Vending On Main Street — Supplemental Report Recommended .Action Staff recommends that the City Council introduce for first reading the attached Ordinance amending Section 6.36.095 of the Santa Monica Municipal Code in order to narrowly expand the area, time, and place of late night vending as is currently prohibited on Main Street. Executive Summary The following supplemental report is to amend the original staff report to reflect the proposed amended ordinance by replacing "Columbus :Day" (pg.6) as one of the prohibited holidays with Cinco de Mayo, May 5t ". This change to the original staff report will accurately reflect the proposed ordinance amendment. In recent years, commercial vending activities from vehicles, particularly food trucks, have grown exponentially within the City. The impact :of this increase in vending activities has been most acute on Main Street during late night hours, when food trucks operating near alcohol serving establishments attract large crowds of persons exiting Main Street bars during their closing hours. In light of these weighty safety concerns, in November 2011, the Council adopted a narrow ordinance (Ordinance 2381 (CGS)) prohibiting vending from vehicles on Main Street, between Ocean Park Boulevard and Marine Street, during the hours of 1:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Ordinance 2381 has proven to be an effective tool in protecting public safety along Main Street. However, the same safety concerns remain apparent during certain holidays popularly associated with alcohol consumption that fall on a week day other than Friday or Saturday. Revised 7 -C Discussion Staff recommends that the ordinance amendment expands the vending prohibition on Main Street, during the hours of 1:00 am to 3:00 am, to include the half block (approximately four parking spaces) between Marine Street and the City's southern border with the City of Los Angeles, and on holidays that draw large crowds to drinking establishments. Holidays would include: New Year's Day, Valentine's Day, Saint Patrick's Day, Halloween, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, and Cinco de Mayo. Financial Impacts & Budget Actions There is no immediate financial impact or budget action necessary as a result of the recommended action. Existing City staff will be utilized to enforce the requirements of this ordinance, should it be adopted by Council. Prepared by: Daniel Salerno, Police Captain Approved: Attachments: ON Forwarded to Council: Rod Gould City Manager