Council decision proves fruitful for berry vendors
Law remains intact until Planning Commission can consider change to city's zoning code
By Kyle Jorrey kjorrey@theacorn.com

Though a local family of strawberry vendors may have won their battle to stay in business, opponents of the city's anti-peddling ordinance did not win the war Monday night at a highly anticipated council meeting where the board promised to revisit the issue and hear additional comments from the public.

Despite calls from a few audience members to do so, council members went nowhere near revoking the law, choosing only to amend it with a "grandfather clause" that would make vendors who meet a strict criteria exempt from time limits on standing or parking a motorized vehicle in any particular location.

According to a staff report, that clause is being extended to "persons who have previously been engaging in the activity of peddling from such vehicles for at least three years, and have secured solicitors permits, health permits and business tax certificates prior to the effective date (March 14) of (the ordinance)."

According to City Manager Mike Sedell, city staff has tallied approximately 10 such vendors who would fall under that criteria, a list that includes longtime Simi strawberry vendors Javier Gonzalez and members of the Martinez family.

They have been campaigning, with the help of fellow Simi resident Rita Henry, for the past two months to see the law changed after they said it threatened their livelihood and the livelihood of their children. Visiting with each neighborhood council and every member of the City Council, it was their work that ultimately convinced the council to revisit the ordinance, which prohibits peddlers from selling items- including flowers, food and other goods- while standing or walking on city streets, medians or sidewalks.

After Monday's decision allowed him and his friends to go safely back to work, Gonzalez praised the council for its willingness to hear their story and do something about it.

"The city of Simi Valley is the best city. It's beautiful, it's quiet, the people are good- that's why I want to work here," Gonzalez said. "I'm very grateful to the council members for letting me go back to work selling tasty strawberries to the people of Simi Valley. At least for now."

Thirty-three people came to Monday's meeting to weigh in on the issue of the peddling ordinance, 28 of whom indicated on their speaker cards that they were for amending the ordinance to allow the strawberry vendors to operate.

Many of those residents, including Merry Lynn McLaren, also stated that they wanted to see the ordinance struck down altogether.

"I feel we're losing a lot of the small-town atmosphere of Simi Valley as we've grown, and I would really hate to see that happen because that's one of those things that makes Simi Valley such a wonderful place to live," said McClaren, a resident since 1968.

"I feel this (law) was done pretty hastily and was not well considered when you put it through," she added. "I really hope you'll reconsider the entire ordinance."

Resident Sandi Webb accused the council of trying to sterilize the streets and chastised the Chamber of Commerce for their part in supporting the anti-peddling law.

"In this country when one person finds a better business model or a different business model, that's called competition," Webb said. "But it's unfair competition when they can go run to the government the way the Chamber of Commerce is doing and asking you to cut out their competition. That's flat-out wrong."

But not all of those who spoke Monday were against the law. Dick Erbe, president of the board of the Chamber of Commerce, reiterated the Chamber's support for the ordinance, saying it protected the integrity of Simi businesses.

"We support the City Council's efforts to ensure that all forms of business in our city are properly licensed and conduct their businesses in a safe and fair manner," Erbe said.

Planning Commissioner Keith Mashburn also spoke for preserving the ordinance as is.

In the end, the council decided to forward the issue onto the Planning Commission so it could look at the possibility of changing the city's zoning code so vendors could operate on private property with the property owner's permission and the proper temporary use permit.

"All I hear is we want to keep getting the strawberries- well, there's a way to do that and that is to put an ordinance together that allows them to operate on private property," said Councilmember Steve Sojka, who has been a staunch supporter of the law since its introduction.

"If this many people in the community want to get fresh strawberries you've got to let free enterprise take over, and I know there are some smart business people in our city that would realize that would be a draw to their business," he continued.

The city's current laws concerning temporaryuse permits only allow vendors to hold such sales on private property four times a year, and any change to the zoning code requires Planning Commission consideration, according to Sedell.