City Council to discuss street vending, Needham Ranch and Vista Canyon projects

The Santa Clarita City Council is expected Tuesday to amend an ordinance that would change street vending in the city, as well as discuss the Needham Ranch and Vista Canyon projects.

The city of Santa Clarita may soon have a sidewalk vending program that would permit sidewalk vendors in the public right-of-way and public parks, as staff asks the City Council to adopt and pass to a second reading the changes of the ordinance concerning vendors.

Santa Clarita has maintained a policy that prohibits street vendors in any public-right-of-way, including events like Concerts in the Park, unless given a temporary or special permit by the city.

This comes after Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law Senate Bill 946, known as the Safe Sidewalk Vending Act, on Sept. 17 and into effect on Jan. 1, 2019. The law requires that local authorities adopt a licensing program and also limits cities’ regulation of sidewalk vending to only those restrictions that are directly related to objective health, safety or welfare concerns.

Changes to Chapter 11.37 of the Santa Clarita Municipal Code include the replacement of the section detailing prohibition on public-rights-of-way to general sidewalk vending regulations.

Five portions make up this section, listing limits on hours of operation, restrictions on vending in residential zones and refusal to leave premises.

Those vending without a sidewalk vendor permit could face a fine of up to $1,000, according to the proposed ordinance.

If approved by the City Council in its following meeting on Dec. 11, the ordinance would go into effect 30 days from its adoption.

Projects
The City Council is also expected to approve Final Tract Maps for both the Needham Ranch and Vista Canyon projects.

A tract map is used to subdivide properties into smaller lots, usually to create five or more residential lots.

For the Needham Ranch project, a 132-acre business park in Newhall, the map consists of 40 acres into 11 lots, including six open space lots and five industrial and commercial lots, all to which were found to be in “substantial conformance with the principles and standards required by the Unified Development Code and State Subdivision Map Act,” according to the city agenda report.

Vista Canyon’s final tract map for phase two includes more than 45 acres, consisting of 19 lots that are currently vacant.