Santa Barbara County Takes Action: What You Need to Know About New Street Food Vendor Regulations

County supervisors recently discussed a troubling issue: unlicensed roadside food vendors are popping up all over Santa Barbara County. Reports of fresh meat being brought in from Los Angeles have raised health and safety concerns. These vendors often use open-flame stoves and large propane tanks, posing fire risks and creating traffic hazards, especially near busy highways.

Supervisor Joan Hartmann and her assistant, Gina Fisher, are leading the charge to tackle this problem. They highlighted that many vendors may be victims of labor trafficking. The supervisors voted 4-0 to create a multi-jurisdictional task force to address the situation, projecting a duration of six months for its efforts. One supervisor, Roy Lee, abstained due to potential conflicts of interest as a restaurant owner.

The task force aims to improve enforcement against these operations, which have been growing more common in cities like Santa Barbara and Santa Maria. Hartmann and Fisher noted that existing state laws intended to protect low-income vendors make it challenging to shut down operations for sanitation violations. These laws allow vendors to remain anonymous when stopped by authorities, limiting the effectiveness of enforcement actions.

This year alone, officials issued 137 notices of violation. Still, warnings often go unheeded, and citations lose their impact if the vendors refuse to identify themselves. The most effective measure so far has been to confiscate the vendors’ meat — as much as 415 pounds in one instance. However, state law requires that any seized goods be returned upon request, leading to more complications.

Another concern is the county’s lack of resources. There is a shortage of refrigerated containers to store seized food. Despite these challenges, some supervisors believe that stricter enforcement is essential and worry about potential costs ballooning, as seen in Ventura County, which has spent around $2 million on similar issues.

District Attorney John Savrnoch expressed the need to identify the people behind these operations, stressing that many are engaged in human trafficking. The question remains: who are these vendors, and how can authorities address these rising concerns effectively? Only time will tell if the new task force can bring about effective solutions for this pressing problem.

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