As more pop-up vendors make their way back to La Jolla\u2019s parks and beaches, the La Jolla Town Council is taking notice \u2014 and looking to take action.<\/p>\n
Recent court rulings<\/a> have forced the city of San Diego to halt a crackdown on vendor operations in areas from the Gaslamp Quarter to city beaches, and limited the city\u2019s ability to enforce certain terms of its sidewalk vending ordinance.<\/p>\n The recent ruling \u2014 spurred by the complaints of a vendor who had operated for years outside Petco Park and a state appeal claiming the city of San Diego was illegally impounding the carts and other property of sidewalk or streetside vendors \u2014 declared the city\u2019s geographic no-vendor zones and limitations on vending hours as \u201coverly restrictive.\u201d<\/p>\n Since the court decision, vendors have returned to many areas where they\u2019d been before the city\u2019s street vendor law took effect in 2023. That includes much of Ellen Browning Scripps Park, La Jolla Shores and the La Jolla Cove area.<\/p>\n In light of this uptick, La Jolla Town Council trustee and Taste of the Himalayas restaurant Karan Gurang voiced his discontent with the amount of vendors by Scripps Park and how it affects businesses like his and his peers, during the Town Council\u2019s Aug. 13 at the La Jolla Recreation Center.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re trying to make their living \u2014 I shouldn\u2019t say they\u2019re not allowed to do that \u2014 but it doesn\u2019t sound fair that they can just set up their tent and start selling stuff down there, and it is impacting our local businesses,\u201d Gurang said of the vendors.<\/p>\n Town Council president Mary Soriano added, \u201cThis has been really heartbreaking because a lot of these (brick-and-mortar) businesses are hurting from that.\u201d<\/p>\n Following these statements, one attendee asked if there\u2019s anything the Council can do to push back against the influx of vendors.<\/p>\n Soriano proposed the idea of gathering signatures on a petition and delivering it to the city to demonstrate robust community opposition throughout the court proceedings to follow. Though no motion was taken, Soriano said she would begin the petition process.<\/p>\n Joaquin Quintero, the community field representative for San Diego City Council President Joe LaCava, while not dismissing the proposal, pointed out the difficult position the city finds itself in at this time.<\/p>\n \u201cThe position of the city has not changed,\u201d Quintero explained. \u201cA recent court order has impacted our ability to exercise enforcement on the sidewalk vending ordinance. That is why you\u2019re seeing what you\u2019re seeing.\u201d<\/p>\n Quintero added that LaCava continues to be in support of the 2022 sidewalk vending ordinance that allowed the city to more strictly enforce limits.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not indifference on your legislative branch\u2019s part,\u201d Quintero continued. \u201cThis is the legal process of a lawsuit that has left us in position.\u201d<\/p>\n In other Town Council news<\/p>\n A La Jolla Fire Safe Council presentation: La Jolla Town Council spent the latter half of its August meeting providing updates on the La Jolla Fire Safe Council.<\/p>\n Fire Safe Councils, commonly referred to as the fire prevention version of Neighborhood Watch groups, are grassroots nonprofits that partner with fire agencies to provide local education on how to best prepare for and prevent wildfires.<\/p>\n The process of forming a La Jolla Fire Safe Council began in April 2025 as about 25 community members gathered to discuss applying<\/a>. They have since teamed with the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department to provide home risk assessments<\/a> for residents and met to discuss pertinent local fire safety issues.<\/p>\n The first of several guest speakers was La Jolla Farms homeowner Marjorie Hansen Shaevitz, who walked attendees through her experience getting a home risk assessment and making her house fire safe.<\/p>\n In June last year, Hansen Shaevitz got a notice from her fire insurance company, saying she would lose her insurance in a couple weeks if she didn\u2019t take action on \u201ca number of issues that showed my home and yard were not safe\u201d including overgrown brush, she explained.<\/p>\n \u201cI got on this immediately,\u201d Hansen Shaevitz said. \u201cI called my insurance agent \u2026 to find out what to do. With his advice, I immediately dealt with all of the fire issues the insurance company identified, as well as what the home assessment found. I hadeverything fixed within two weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n Hansen Shaevitz was able to keep her fire insurance. Soriano praised her for her proactivity and implored others to do the same.<\/p>\n \u201cWe really appreciate you, Marjorie, for setting the example of caring for your neighbor \u2026 because it\u2019s not just going to take one person setting the example (but) everybody next to you (too),\u201d Soriano said.<\/p>\n