![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SUT-L-vendor-enforce-006.jpg\")
A vending restriction sign is displayed in the Gaslamp Quarter. (Kristian Carreon \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\nRecent court rulings have forced San Diego to halt a city crackdown on street vendors that has been hailed for restoring order to Balboa Park, the Gaslamp Quarter, city beaches and other popular spots.<\/p>\n
Leaders of merchant groups say they\u2019re frustrated by the city\u2019s retreat, which was triggered by a state appeals court ruling in January that the city was illegally impounding the carts and other property of scofflaw vendors.<\/p>\n
The ruling, which vindicated the complaints of a vendor who had operated for many years outside Petco Park, also declared as \u201coverly restrictive\u201d the city\u2019s geographic no-vendor zones and limitations on vending hours.<\/p>\n
Since the court defeat, chaos and problems have slowly returned to many areas where vendors had been most conspicuous before the city\u2019s street vendor law took effect in 2023.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a disaster,\u201d Denny Knox, executive director of the Ocean Beach Main Street Association, said last week.\n<\/p>\n
Knox said it\u2019s highly disappointing to have zero enforcement by the city after politicians, community leaders and vendor advocates spent many years crafting and re-crafting San Diego\u2019s street vendor law.<\/p>\n
In the Gaslamp Quarter, organized groups of hot dog vendors are again arriving together in trucks every weekend. Those vendors have been accused of threatening merchants, starting fires and pouring grease into storm drains.<\/p>\n
\u201cBusinesses are struggling as sidewalks are blocked, unpermitted vendors operate without oversight and enforcement is visibly absent,\u201d said Michael Trimble of the Gaslamp Quarter Association. \u201cThe lack of action has also led to an escalation of activity, including new vendors setting up tents and selling goods without permits, health approvals or accountability.\u201d<\/p>\n
The court defeat, which the city chose not to appeal, essentially returns San Diego to square one in its longtime effort to grapple with a 2018 state law that decriminalized many aspects of street vending.<\/p>\n
The city\u2019s stated goal has consistently been to balance fostering vendors as a new class of entrepreneurs against preventing them from damaging the character and safety of parks, beach areas and business districts.<\/p>\n
But the city has suffered setback after setback.<\/p>\n
A vending restriction sign is displayed in the Gaslamp Quarter. (Kristian Carreon \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n
Controversial efforts to craft a vendor law began under then-Mayor Kevin Faulconer in 2019, shifted to Mayor Todd Gloria in 2021, and eventually fell into the hands of Councilmember Jennifer Campbell, who represents some beach areas.<\/p>\n
Campbell and her aides, primarily chief of staff Venus Molina, crafted a complex law that the City Council approved in an 8-1 vote in May 2022.<\/p>\n
A key part of the law was banning vendors during the busy summer months in Balboa Park and many of the city\u2019s beach areas. It also banned vendors in large parts of some business districts, such as Little Italy and Ocean Beach.<\/p>\n
But the law almost immediately ran into problems. <\/a>Merchant groups complained about lack of enforcement and many vendors claimed the law violated their free speech rights under the First Amendment.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SUT-L-vendor-enforce-004.jpg\")
A hot dog vendor in the Gaslamp Quarter. (Kristian Carreon \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n