WILLITS, CA., 11/18/25 – The Willits City Council has decided to move forward with amendments to its street vending policy that will enforce specific rules for mobile vendors in the city.
The move to modify the city’s street vending policy aligns with California’s Senate Bill 946, a sidewalk vending act passed in 2018 that decriminalized street vending and restricts local governments from entirely banning sidewalk vending.
The Willits City Council was given recommendations to amend its street vending policy from Swetha Hiranya Venuturupalli, the senior city planner for the city of Willits.
“The purpose of this ordinance is to create clearer and consistent rules for mobile vendors and sidewalk vendors,” Venuturupalli said in her presentation at last week’s city council meeting. “It aims to promote economic opportunities and ensuring that these operations are compatible with existing businesses.”
Venuturupalli’s presentation explained that the proposed amendments to the city code would enforce guidelines to ensure these vendors operate properly in Willits.
Some of the rules in the new ordinance state that only two stationary carts will be allowed per block in commercial and industrial zones, stationary carts will not be allowed in residential areas, mobile vending units will be allowed in residential areas, and all carts and equipment must be removed after closing.
Venuturupalli gave different definitions of what defines a mobile vending unit, a stationary cart, and a standard street (sidewalk) vendor.
A mobile vending unit is a motorized food truck or trailer, and a stationary cart is a fixed cart that normally stays in the same location. A street vendor is a person who sells food or merchandise from a pushcart, stand, display, pedal-driven cart, wagon, showcase, rack, or other non-motorized conveyance on a public sidewalk or other pedestrian path.
Other requirements state that vendors cannot operate within 300 feet of city-approved events and are prohibited on city property without prior approval. If they are within 500 feet of local schools, they can only operate between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Additional permit and compliance rules state that each vendor’s cart must have and display a valid zoning permit, and each permit only covers one cart and is nontransferable.
Willits Vice Mayor Matthew Alaniz said in an interview that implementing vendor requirements will enhance economic opportunities in the city.
“The vendor community themselves are a group of entrepreneurs that talk to each other. When they know that Willits is a business-friendly place, it will attract more businesses,” he said. “I think word of mouth will be really good.”
Alaniz said the Willits City Council also wants to ensure brick-and-mortar businesses are not negatively impacted by street vendors. He noted that the city council will review the ordinance again in one year and possibly make adjustments if issues arise.
“I think we took an important step, knowing that when we revisit this in a year, we may need to make some changes,” Alaniz stated. “But we thought it was important to let this unfold.”
The Willits City Council approved the first reading of the ordinance at its meeting last Wednesday and plans to give it final approval at the next meeting on December 10. The public is invited to attend and comment on the item.
The council will not meet next week because of the Thanksgiving holiday.
The Ukiah City Council will also be discussing amendments to its sidewalk vending policy at its meeting this Wednesday.
The Willits City Council meets on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month at Council Chambers, 111 E. Commercial St. Meetings begin at 6:30 p.m. Public comments can be emailed to council members or by calling (707) 459-4601.
Willits has like 12 Mexican restaurants, there are many other struggling restaurants that pay rent, taxes and insurance and provide clean restrooms. I don’t think we need street vendor in this small town, they should definitely be required to pass health inspections and be able to wash their hands and go to the bathroom somewhere, definitely taxes if they are accepting cash, otherwise they are putting tax paying business out of business.
They should definitely set an amount of vendors so it doesn’t get overrun. Hopefully they are taking that into account. Also making sure they all have their resale license in place. Dotting the I and crossing the T as they say. Be smart about it.
Regarding Street Vending in Willits, I would like to know whether their is any monitoring of sanitation and food safety. Will it be posted?
Right!
Good questions from both of you. The main reason I never eat from these street vendors is because I don’t see where they have any running water to wash their hands. Let alone use the restroom.