By Adrian Rodriguez | [email protected] | Marin Independent Journal
PUBLISHED: February 2, 2026 at 4:26 PM PST | UPDATED: February 2, 2026 at 6:02 PM PST
San Rafael is looking for help to create a food park where street vendors can operate.
Last month, officials issued a request for proposals, or RFP, soliciting contractors to engage San Rafael vendors and identify and manage a site to serve as a recurring marketplace for mobile food sales.
The move comes a few months after the City Council voted unanimously to establish rules and fees for street food vendors, addressing mounting complaints about noise, health and safety, primarily in the Canal neighborhood. The program imposed restrictions on the vendors and served as a first step to pilot a food park destination.
The city has committed spending up to $50,000 on a contract with a third-party partner on the project.
San Rafael Mayor Kate Colin called the request for proposals “an important next step to strengthen enforcement and improve education around unpermitted food vending.”
“This is a complex issue and we remain committed to working with stakeholders to ensure that all mobile food vendors operate safely, fairly and within the law,” she said.
Like other cities, San Rafael had a rise in street food vending after its legalization by Senate Bill 946 in 2018 and then Senate Bill 927 in 2022.
The Marin County Environmental Health Services Division regulates food vending licensing for all jurisdictions. City code enforcement officers can issue citations for operating without a business license or a food vendor permit.
San Rafael had not updated its regulations after the two state bills passed, leaving a gap in enforcement.
The city and county launched several joint enforcement operations last year to address community complaints. During the operations, officials issued more than 40 citations and gave 15 warnings. County staff confiscated food from 11 vendors. One arrest was made for public intoxication, according to the city.
Staff estimated that 75% of vendors contacted during operations were from outside San Rafael.
Recently, city staff issued three warnings for unpermitted vending from vehicles, said Greg Minor, assistant director of community and economic development.
Under the city’s updated ordinance, adopted in November, vendors are limited to commercial and industrial zones with buffers from bus stops, business entrances and exits, other vendors, schools, farmers markets and special events. Vendors are required to comply with business and sales tax requirements.
Vendors must maintain a litter-free area within the vicinity of their operations and properly dispose of grease. Vendors must provide sufficient space on sidewalks for people with disabilities to pass.
Vending is allowed from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The ordinance prohibits later vending because of noise.
Establishing a food park destination will make it easier for vendors to comply with the law, Minor said.
“Curbing unpermitted mobile food vending has been challenging because state law limits enforcement to administrative fines, which do not always deter repeat violations,” Minor said.
“Vendors are highly mobile and frequently change locations, making it difficult to achieve sustained compliance,” he said. “The local vending priority program offers a ‘win-win-win’ scenario by improving local entrepreneurs’ ability to succeed, reducing accessibility conflicts by directing foot traffic away from sidewalks, and ensuring compliance with food safety requirements through bilingual technical assistance.”
Leaders of Canal Alliance, a nonprofit serving the Latino immigrant community in Marin, said they support the city’s plan.
“The city’s efforts demonstrate inclusivity, addressing issues like language access, cost, navigating complex regulations, and recognize that removing hurdles for vendors will create order, visibility, safety and support the success of local small business operators,” said Air Gallegos, director of economic mobility at Canal Alliance.
Diana Benitez, a community development planner at the nonprofit, said, “From a community planning perspective, food vending is not just an economic activity, it’s part of how residents experience culture, safety and belonging.”
Benitez said that through “Nuestro Canal, Nuestro Futuro,” an initiative by the organization, Canal residents have consistently named cultural preservation and local entrepreneurship as priorities, along with safer and more organized public spaces.
“Thoughtfully designed vending zones or pilot marketplaces — in addition to Canal Alliance’s seasonal marketplace events — will support vendors while improving pedestrian access, sidewalk safety and neighborhood cohesion,” Benitez said.
Proposals are due 5 p.m. Feb. 16. More information is online at shorturl.at/f8mOI.
