Salinas crackdown on illegal Mother’s Day street vendors

UPDATE: This Mother’s Day Weekend Swenson and Silacci will ship out about 3,000 orders of flowers.

“For us Mother’s Day is about 10 to 15 times a normal day,” said Swenson and Silacci owner Mark Silacci. “So it’s pretty crazy. It’s for the whole week, but it’s a nice week.”

This weekend will not only be a busy one for flower shops, but illegal vendors as well.

“We’ve had some people come in from San Jose, from Los Angeles, from San Francisco, just to come in and sale or vend their flowers,” said Salinas Code Enforcement Senior Officer Lorenzo Sanchez. “Take the money from our community and leave.”

To crack down on that, Salinas Code Enforcement will be looking and asking for placards, which are issued to vendors who went through the proper channels to obtain a temporary use of land permit in order to legally conduct business.

“We do encourage businesses, we do want businesses to thrive and succeed,” said Sanchez. “But we also want it to be done fairly and justly for all the others that do promote their business as well.”

Those who do not have permits will be asked to pack up and leave.

“If they come back or they’re there the next day, we do proceed with our enforcement, which could be citations and possibly confiscation,” said Sanchez.

While some flower shops told KION vendors definitely take away some of their business, Swenson and Silacci Flowers said they do not experience much of an impact.

“As long as they have their permits just like I do I think it’s wonderful,” said Silacci. “I think the more people that can buy flowers the better. But of course when you use the term illegal obviously that implies something’s not right in the beginning.”

Code Enforcement officers will also be on the lookout for vendors blocking driveways, entryways and sidewalks.

ORIGINIAL STORY: Mother’s Day weekend is a time when many people are looking for something special for family members, but the city of Salinas is reminding you to avoid buying gifts from illegal street vendors.

Salinas’ Code Enforcement Team said it plans to hand out citations to unlicensed and unpermitted flower and gift vendors and may confiscate any products.

“Ideally, we would like every vendor to operate in a legal manner by obtaining the necessary licenses and permits and complying with the regulations and requirements set forth by the City,” said Lorenzo Sanchez, Senior Code Enforcement Officer. “We understand that people are trying to make a living, and there are steps that can be taken to be able to legally sell their goods. We encourage potential vendors to come in and speak to our staff if they have any questions about the process.”

KION’s Maya Holmes will have more on this story at 6 p.m.