Unpermitted food vendors operating without approval from the County of Marin Environmental Health Services Division pose a significant risk to public health. The website will be updated with information about what the City of San Rafael is doing to address unpermitted food vending.
Staff from the Community & Economic Development and Police Departments are actively collaborating with the Environmental Health Division of the County of Marin to address unpermitted food vending, which endangers the public's health and safety and impacts property owners and businesses.
This cross departmental and cross jurisdictional team is working together to execute special enforcement operations that prioritize the most unsafe operators, in addition to aligning policies to approach the problem proactively. This coordinated effort will be stepped up in the coming weeks with increased enforcement in San Rafael at multiple hot spot locations.
State laws relating to "sidewalk vendors" place limitations on what cities like San Rafael can legally enforce. Under SB 946 and SB 972, the City cannot entirely prohibit sidewalk vending. The City can require vendors to leave a 4-foot pathway on the sidewalk to provide access for persons with disabilities. However, to legally operate, food vendors must still obtain health permits and clearance from the County of Marin Environmental Health Services Division to ensure safe food handling and storage, sanitary facilities with sinks and water tanks, etc.
You can report a concern about food safety by calling the County of Marin Environmental Health Services Division at 415-473-6907. Their office is open Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. Complaints may also be reported to the City of San Rafael Code Enforcement Division at 415-485-3097. Please click the "file a complaint" button below to submit your complaint to the City's Code Enforcement Division.
Update October 8, 2024
In collaboration with the County of Marin Health and San Rafael Police, City Code Enforcement staff have conducted food vending enforcement operations throughout the City over the past several weeks. For vendors who persist in non-compliance, continued coordination with the County and escalation of penalties will occur.
During recent operations, multiple vendors have been engaged, several pre-citations have been issued, and food has been impounded from non-compliant vendors as part of the City's ongoing efforts to ensure compliance with local regulations. Pre-citations warn vendors of the fines they will face if they are found operating again without proper permits. If vendors who received pre-citations continue to operate without compliance, they will be issued citations with fines of $825. While the County cannot issue citations for street vending, they can escalate by impounding food and equipment.
The City is also installing signs in vending "hot spots" to alert the public that unpermitted food vending is prohibited.