Transient vendors face new law today
City puts pressure on property owners where food wagons and roadside stands carry out commerce
The Post and Courier
Customers at Taquerio el Jiro on Ashley Phosphate Road socialize as they eat lunch Thursday.
The Post and Courier
Mauricio Sanchez, owner of Taquerio el Jiro on Ashley Phosphate Road near Stall Road, talks Thursday about how a new North Charleston law might affect his business.
Past stories
Vendors don't see wrong in right of way, published 07/24/08
Proposal targets roadside vendors; New N. Charleston law would force stands to move around, published 03/22/08
Crane operator Stafford Higgins tries to make ends meet by hawking shark meat at a roadside stand on Dorchester Road on his days off. Mauricio Sanchez supports his wife and two children selling tacos and other Mexican favorites from a mobile food wagon on Ashley Phosphate Road.
Both will be affected by a law that North Charleston City Council passed 8-1 on Thursday to regulate transient vendors.
The measure requires owners of property where mobile vendors set up to pay for host registrations and inspections. Not only will property owners have to pay for a $15 city permit that lets transient vendors operate on their land, they also will have to pay $10 for the inspection each time a transient merchant sets up on their property.
It takes effect immediately.
The ordinance comes after months of discussion that at one point had City Council consider limiting vendors to operating 12 times a year at one location, a move that would have effectively eliminated most of the businesses and severely limited longtime fruit stands, fireworks shops and Christmas tree operations.
The city scrapped that plan in favor of the one targeting property owners.
It benefits the city in many ways, according to Deputy City Attorney Derk Van Raalte. It allows city staff to know where transient vendors set up shop, which landowners are acting as landlords and who the point person is for inspection purposes, he said.
"This would allow the city to better check to ensure that associated revenues are being properly reported for business license purposes," he said.
Neither Higgins nor Sanchez had heard of the ordinance, but both had licenses from the city to operate.
"If they pass that, then I will have to find out who owns the property," Higgins said from the shade of an awning of a closed gas station.
Sanchez said he is unsure how the new law will affect him. He already pays $1,500 a month to rent his mobile food wagon near the intersection of Ashley Phosphate and Stall roads.
"I already passed the inspection," the Jalisco, Mexico, native said.
Councilman Steve Ayer voted against the proposal because he said it did not go far enough. "I thought it was the consensus of council to improve the image of the city," he said. "You aren't improving the image of the city with them popping up on every corner." He wanted one spot designated for all vendors to operate from.
"I don't want them gone," Mayor Keith Summey said before the meeting. "I want them regulated. Is it a perfect scenario? No, but we can always come back to it."
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Comments
moonpie (anonymous) says...
scnative exactly right and they're supposed to.. Gov has turn a blind eye to any illegal businesses because they don't want to be responsible for deporting, ie A&A Granite where the owner admitted in this paper "he only hires illegals". If you or I wanted to sell watermelons (which i did once) they would run us off beacuse we didn't have a peddlers license. These illegals set up taco stands which are an eye sore, and start cooking food. Which we have a Gov dept (dhec) that is supposed to inspect your operation before your allowed to open, hence the big letters posted on mst establishments front doors.
Once again there are laws on the books to stop this kind of thing we just need someone with some BALLS to enforce them! Like the sheriff out west, we need him.
August 29, 2008 at 6:21 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
gamecockwoman (anonymous) says...
it's about time! I for one am tired of our major roads looking like Tijuana with all these tacky vendors. Don't crane operators make major $$, anyway?And if Mr. Taco Stand has $1,500 a month for rent, for goodness sakes, he could rent a small restaurant!
August 29, 2008 at 6:30 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
theronce (anonymous) says...
Well, what you say sounds well and true, but something nags at me here that I cannot put my finger on yet. Time will tell. Maybe I sense the law of unintended consequences coming into play here. We'll see.
August 29, 2008 at 7:21 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
1963 (anonymous) says...
Quote: "If they pass that, then I will have to find out who owns the property," Higgins said. What? I thought it was illegal to use some elses property for your own use. When will the health department get into the act?
August 29, 2008 at 7:29 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
charlene68 (anonymous) says...
they need a better plan than that. who could'nt pay 25.00 .. that is crazyyyy
August 29, 2008 at 7:37 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
DoaMM (anonymous) says...
theronce wrote:
"...but something nags at me here that I cannot put my finger on yet."
Could it be that the council is going after the property owners and not the vendors?
Could it be that the council just made another step toward socialism by ensuring the vendors are "regulated"?
Could it be that while some of the vendors may be illegal aliens (and should be deported), but most of them are simply earning a paycheck on their own or extra cash by providing a service?
I agree that if they COOK the food, they should have an inspection, and the VENDOR should pay for it. It should be up to the property owner as to whether to charge "rent" or not.
Obama! Save Us, oh Wise One!
August 29, 2008 at 7:42 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
DoaMM (anonymous) says...
I think the P&C has troubles with the comments section today...Sometimes I can't access it.
August 29, 2008 at 7:46 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Canadian_THGLIFE (anonymous) says...
The simple solution for these vendors is to file tax returns for two years that show a net loss (it's not hard) which automatically classifies the business as a hobby.
This is a sneaky bill. Instead of the city saying they will regulate the vendors, they have attached a monetary value to being a removed landowner. You will see the owners stepping in and removing these vendors without the city having to lift a finger. Touche North Charleston!
August 29, 2008 at 8 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
berthelot (anonymous) says...
A quick search on the SCDHEC Food Establishment Page returned no results for a "Taquerio el Jiro".
http://www.scdhec.net/health/envhlth/...
I think that answers the question of whether or not they are regulated by DHEC. I know most of us aren't going to go have a taco and find out.
August 29, 2008 at 8:09 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Tammie (anonymous) says...
I'm sorry but I can't see myself eating tacos from a stand on the side of the road. Just something seemingly unclean about it. Ugh.
DoaMM, seems like some of the stories have their comments disabled for some reason or another. Thought it was just me.
August 29, 2008 at 8:19 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
number1volsfan1 (anonymous) says...
"If they pass that, then I will have to find out who owns the property," Higgins said from the shade of an awning of a closed gas station.
Isn't that called trespassing?
August 29, 2008 at 8:48 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Time4action (anonymous) says...
It makes you wonder. Do they have facilities to wash their hands?
August 29, 2008 at 9:11 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
DoaMM (anonymous) says...
lol C_J...
August 29, 2008 at 9:24 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
MountP (anonymous) says...
Yes, they are essentially a mobile kitchen with sinks, burners, etc. Although the way they connect the burners to the propane tanks is sketchy. I wouldn't smoke anywhere near that thing. The whole operation looks like a disaster waiting to happen.
The 'inspector' must be given some free tacos to look the other way. A five year old with an Erector set could put together a safer structure.
August 29, 2008 at 9:29 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
LutherVanderhorst (anonymous) says...
You can use a lime wedge to clean your hands and remove a Dirty Sanchez.
August 29, 2008 at 9:47 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
DanniD (anonymous) says...
Dirty Sanchez....ewwwww that is just plain dirty.
August 29, 2008 at 9:51 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jca (anonymous) says...
my momma always says if you cant see soap and a separate sink for hand washing stay away bout time they did something about this before the unsafe food handling and processing kills someone
August 29, 2008 at 9:52 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
suec (anonymous) says...
Any of you ever been in the kitchen at an oriental restaraunt?
August 29, 2008 at 9:57 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
grannyofseven_2 (anonymous) says...
I keep thinking of all the flies going in an out of the stands. EWWW
I will make my own tacos thank you and since I am on a salt free diet it would be better.
But now if you wan to be sick for a few days near death eat at Jose's taco stand (just a metaphor)
August 29, 2008 at 10:47 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
berthelot (anonymous) says...
Just got off the phone with DHEC. These roadside stands are subject to the same inspection and standards as any restaurant and should be displaying a sticker if they are legal. The exception is if they are cooking the food in a certified location and then keeping it warm and serving it on the truck. Either way it seems that many of these vendors are operating outside the law and should be turned in.
I would love to open a restaurant with no regulations, but that isn't how it works in our country whether you are an illegal immigrant or not.
August 29, 2008 at 10:52 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
suec (anonymous) says...
In the PnC watch Dog report a while back Taquerio el Jiro on Ashley Phosphate Road scored by DHEC a 98. Osaka a 91.
August 29, 2008 at 11:02 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
STREETLAW (anonymous) says...
It may be that war with Mexico is again an option since once illegals get in they seem to behave, well, illegally.
DHEC is so short handed it could never keep up, but I hate to think what is in those pender vendors peanuts or fruit.
As more and more area crack down on illegal trespassers you can bet they will show up in South Carolina, one of the most backward states in the Union.
August 29, 2008 at 11:33 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
mademoiselle16 (anonymous) says...
As to mobile food vendors having to be inspected: yes, they are inspected by DHEC just like any other restaurant. The hot dog man who used to operate on the corner of King and George selling hot dogs to CofC students had a restaurant sticker. (Believe me, I checked!) He had an "A" rating, I might add.
August 29, 2008 at 1:31 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
amicus_non_ego (anonymous) says...
Those that constantly whine about immigrants in our state need to look up some statistics before claiming they are running rampant and unchecked.
In the last 8 months over 15,000 immigrants have been deported in Georgia, SC, and Florida combined...
Right-wingers just love to fear-monger and make outlandish claims. I mean, come on, its as if any of you were actually competing with immigrants in the fruit picking or hot dog businesses...
As a libertarian, I say instead of deporting them once they are identified, tag 'em and tax 'em. If they want to stay they should pay....
August 29, 2008 at 1:54 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Weeeee (anonymous) says...
How is driving down the street and noticing the problem loitering around businesses fear mongering?
August 29, 2008 at 2:37 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
walleyedwoman1215 (anonymous) says...
I would no more eat from a roadside taco stand than I'd eat from my dog's bowl. Sorry, just too much room for error. Nine years ago I got food poisoning (hospital's diagnosis, not mine) from a chilidog purchased at a mom & pop general store. It takes up to 24 hours for symptoms to develop, and when they do you will pray for a swift, merciful death.
August 29, 2008 at 2:39 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
amicus_non_ego (anonymous) says...
My comment was directed at the comments concerning the need for immediate crackdowns and deportation actions on illegal immigrants...
Fanning the flame, so to speak, on a "problem" that is easily solved with naturalization initiatives and proper taxing.
If you dislike Spanish signage or loitering, I suggest you write a letter to your local zoning board.
August 29, 2008 at 2:52 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
amicus_non_ego (anonymous) says...
That's the point RW. Deportation costs us money as well. Instead of taking such an obtuse and self-important route, a broad approach to naturalization and identification for tax purposes immediately generates revenue to support the infrastructure for these people.
As an aside, WTF is the "toots." LOL.
August 29, 2008 at 3:03 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
amicus_non_ego (anonymous) says...
Don't forget the "give us your huddled masses" line imprinted on the Statue of Liberty.
We are all descendants of immigrants... There will always be an influx of the poor to areas of higher opportunity. If we embrace it and create the necessary systems of naturalization and taxation, there is a drastic buffer of the effect that "illegals" will have on the current infrastructure.
August 29, 2008 at 3:06 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
luvmydogs59 (anonymous) says...
*disclaimer...I'm totally against illegals, they need to go*.
I'm going to play devil's advocate here. I wonder if some of these folks are legal, since getting their names in print would make it very easy for them to be rounded up and deported. Most illegals won't give more than their first names if an article appears in print. Just a thought. If they are illegal then send them back to Mexico!
August 29, 2008 at 3:11 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
forget (anonymous) says...
Amicus, your point is well argued but unrealistic. This country can't afford to just give 20+ million people citizenship. The strain on government funded programs (already stretched to the limits) would be devastating. Not to mention our healthcare system that already is a mess. Then we need to discuss our public schools which are already over crowded. The part I find disturbing is the diseases that this country had under control or just about eliminated which are making a large comeback (TB, measles, etc) The list goes on and on. No other country in the world allows this to happen. The countries that these people are coming from would allow us to come there by the millions.
Something has to be done. Today.
August 29, 2008 at 3:20 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
forget (anonymous) says...
oops,
The countries that these people are coming from would not allow us to come there by the millons.
I need to proof read better....
August 29, 2008 at 3:21 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
amicus_non_ego (anonymous) says...
I totally agree - there are drastic changes that need to occur in our social welfare programs, (as a Libertarian I loathe the fact that "do nothings" suckle the gov't teat that we fund), and while I do not advocate an immediate grant of amnesty to all (20 million is a conservative estimate) that reside in our borders, I think there should be a more pro-active approach to the immigration issue that surpasses the shortsighted "kick 'em out" doctrine. They will only return and that is just a fact.
A broad approach to naturalization and taxation increases the ability of our government to effectively deal with them.
Spending hundreds of millions of dollars annually on deportation and the revolving door that is the Rio Grande is a collossal waste of resources.
August 29, 2008 at 3:29 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
amicus_non_ego (anonymous) says...
The disease, health care issues, and public school problem are all cogs in the wheel that need to be dealt with. A comprehensive, progressive approach that acknowledges the fact that you simply cannot "secure" the borders to a degree of plausibility required to keep illegal immigrants out is needed to effectively deal with these problems.
Another side of the coin is increasing diplomatic resources with our neighboring countries that increase the ability of illegals to use appropriate channels to gain citizenship in our country.
Most people that simply call for the illegal BOOT, don't consider the issue logically and derive their conclusions from an elitist or racist perspective without considering the issue on with any foresight. This is a typical line of reasoning I see in these posts, and is an unfortunate result of ignorance bred over time in the South. (I am from SC, so keep the Yankee insults at bay.)
August 29, 2008 at 3:38 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
berthelot (anonymous) says...
We can't give them citizenship but I don't think we can afford to send them all home either. Here is why:
- Illegal immigrants tend to live in low income rental housing. The people who own such properties are generally semi-wealthy and if they have any sense at all they have separated personal assets (personal homes, stocks) from from business assets (mobile home parks, apartment buildings). If the government steps in and deports every illegal then these property owners will just as soon turn over the keys to "little tiajuana" and default on the loan before making those payments or jeapordizing their personal assets. If the banks assume all of this reclaimed property from defaulted loans and can't sell it because of an already flooded market then they will suffer serious financial blows WHICH AFFECTS US ALL. The banks are already in deep, deep , doo doo. If the banks can't afford to continue floating credit to you then your lifestyle is going to disappear.
- Millions upon millions of fruits and vegetables will rot on the vine if farmers cannot afford to pay the wages of a legal worker (double) once the "labor" end of the work force is reduced to Americans that are willing to do such menial tasks. Perhaps at one time we could have survived, but after allowing the illegal immigrants to become integrated into our workforce for so long our economy would suffer a severe shock if they were all of the sudden removed.
I propose that we secure the borders with our military and enforce immediate deportation without the possibility of re-entry for any illegal immigrant that breaks the law, while at the same time instituting a documentation program to keep track of them and allowing the peaceful hard working people to continue as they are. If they would like to attain citizenship to get an education or get and assistance from the government then they must go about it through the proper methods.
August 29, 2008 at 3:51 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
RTC (anonymous) says...
People need to be very concerned about illegals from any country. If they have not been properly vaccinated we may be seeing outbreaks of diseases that were thought to be eradicated in this country. This is not something to be taken lightly, and our politicians need to get on the ball.
I would really like to know what, if anything, the CDC in Atlanta is doing about this situation.
I don't mean to sound paranoid, but just maybe they need to making up a large supply of vaccines in case of a major outbreak.
August 29, 2008 at 4:48 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
forget (anonymous) says...
luvmydogs,
they very well could still be illegal. They know at this point, nobody is going to bring them in. They're not worried about it. Look at the guy from the granite company. He was brazen enough to say to the P&C that he hires only illegals. He wasn't even worried about it.
August 29, 2008 at 4:58 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
forget (anonymous) says...
The disease part of all this is what has me really worried. I seem to be hearing about alot more cases of TB lately. And recently there was a story about Ca. having an unusually large amount of measle cases.
And don't they still have polio and such in some countries?
Now you hear about people not wanting to vaccinate their children because of their fear of autism. Without their children being vaccinated and people coming in from countries that still have these diseases, we could be in for a large problem in the near future.
August 29, 2008 at 5:04 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
luvmydogs59 (anonymous) says...
Posted by forget on August 29, 2008 at 4:58 p.m.
"luvmydogs,
they very well could still be illegal. They know at this point, nobody is going to bring them in. They're not worried about it. Look at the guy from the granite company. He was brazen enough to say to the P&C that he hires only illegals. He wasn't even worried about it."
forget, yes, I have to agree...I was just doing the devil's advocate thing...I do that now and again :). I remember the granite company guy. Seems like the illegals in this area don't have a thing to worry about, since nobody is bothering to put the manpower into rounding them up whether they know their names or not.
August 29, 2008 at 6:35 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
JW29410 (anonymous) says...
Sounding to me like N Chas has decided to become sooooooooo cosmopolitan and start screwing with the little guy, just like Mayor LittleJoe and the rat pack that turned downtown Charleston into a fru-fru yuppie paradise. Next thing we know, they will think they need a smoking ordinance.
August 29, 2008 at 8:44 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
moonpie (anonymous) says...
Jane is right!
August 29, 2008 at 9:37 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
mnbvcxz (anonymous) says...
the tacos from those stands are really good, better than taco bell's : )
August 30, 2008 at 12:54 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
JH09915 (anonymous) says...
Please!! Who in their right mind would eat any of that garbage??
August 30, 2008 at 6:05 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
robkbob (anonymous) says...
The tacos at these stands are the best I've ever had. I hate Taco Bell.
August 30, 2008 at 2:46 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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