a has proposed a new bill to tackle the sale of stolen goods on the streets of San Francisco is welcomed by legitimate vendors peddling their wares on the street corners of the Mission District.
Rodrigo Lopez has been a salesman on Mission Street since 2019. Now, as president of the Mission Street Vendors Association, he leads a movement that is gaining traction.
“It’s very exciting. Seven months ago there were only a few vendors and no one recognized a vendor. Right now everyone recognizes this step and we feel like we are part of the city, of the community, because we have a voice to have.” Lopez said.
Lopez says this shift is largely due to a change in language used in the new legislation that clarifies the association’s role in representing permitted street vendors. These law changes are intended to combat illegal street vending, not only in the Mission but throughout San Francisco.
“That makes us feel happy when we hear someone like Senator Scott Wiener say that and Mayor London Breed. We feel like they are showing some respect and recognizing our job,” Lopez added.
Monday, San Francisco State Sen. Scott Wiener said Senate Bill 925 would allow police to issue summonses to street vendors selling often stolen goods without a permit. Supervisor Ahsha Safaí, who says the warning process hasn’t worked, has introduced another important change to the law.
“What we were doing, and what was being abused, was the warning process was repeated over and over again. But what we want to do with this is we focus on illegally dropping off stolen items. And we want the inspectors to have to go, give a warning, document that warning. And then if they come back and the person can’t provide a permit or receipt for their items for 120 days, those items will be confiscated,” Safaí explained.
Supervisor Safaí says this legislation will be voted on next Monday, after which it is expected to go before a full council. The bill should be finalized within the next month, creating an opportunity to begin training inspectors on how to approach these changes.
“What we are doing now is tightening this up because we have learned and seen from the inspectors, the small businesses and legal sellers themselves. “We want to be able to differentiate and give the inspectors the right tools to really focus on illegally shielding stolen items that are out there,” Safaí said.
With these new laws, Lopez also hopes to see improvements for permitted street vendors.
“It’s definitely a step in the right direction and we’re happy because we feel like the city has finally given us something, tools to work with and everyone is very excited about what’s going to happen in the coming months. If these are approved in August I think it will be a success for everyone,” Lopez said.
