Hayward restaurateurs warn against sidewalk vendors. 'We're going to be the next East L.A.'

Oakland and Alameda approve tenant protections; Seven councilmembers and a baby coming to the 'Dro; A's ballpark bill gets un-stalled

CITY NEWS

HAYWARD

—RESTAURANT OWNERS UPSET—Antonio Solorio, the owner of Tacos Uruapan in South Hayward, grew the popular restaurant from a food truck to a full-fledged brick-and-mortar establishment at the same corner of Huntwood Avenue and Industrial Boulevard.

—Despite his origin story, Solorio is skeptical about the Hayward City Council’s push for a sidewalk vending ordinance.

—Solorio said the number of street vendors will continue to increase without strict regulations in the still-pending ordinance. “Soon we’ll be the next East L.A,” Solorio told the City Council at Tuesday night’s work session.

—A number of Hayward restaurant owners also raised doubts that street vendors will collect and pay sales tax, thereby creating an unfair financial advantage over their taxpaying businesses.

—“Our sales are dropping because of those guys and its seems like nobody cares.” another Hayward restaurant owner said of sidewalk vendors.

—In addition, restaurant owners strongly oppose allowing food vendors to sell near their restaurants. In some cases, the sidewalk food vendors are selling the same type of food as the nearby restaurant.

—A state law limits cities from regulating where sidewalk vendors can sell. A prohibition must be based on health and physical safety issues, for instance, a cart that blocks traffic, and not based on an “economic competition rationale,” Hayward city staff said.

—Nonetheless, Hayward councilmembers appeared to show consensus support for moving forward with plans for a potential sidewalk vending ordinance sometime this year.

—Hayward Mayor Mark Salinas said, “We’re not anti-street vendors and we’re not totally anti-brick-and-mortar. We absolutely see the value in brick-and-mortar. We’re trying to find a balance.”

—“The state has completely tied our hands. You can’t regulate proximity to another business. It’s absolutely incredible and I don’t want to sound grumpy here,” Salinas added. “Sometimes I don’t understand what they do in Sacramento.”

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