Residents press council to restore vendor outreach, help retrieve property taken at Wellness Center

During the public comment period at the City of Victorville council meeting on May 20, 2025, multiple residents urged the council to reinstate and expand street-vendor education and outreach, improve language access and translation for city materials, and investigate missing personal property taken from a resident exiting the Wellness Center. Speakers said recent code-enforcement actions, including the confiscation of flowers from a vendor on Mother’s Day, have harmed small vendors who rely on limited hours and local customers.

Tina Stafford, speaking about the West Creek area, called for an indoor safe space for teenagers in her neighborhood and noted the new library is a 15-minute drive for many residents without transportation. Several other public speakers focused on street vendors and the city’s response after a vendor’s property was taken; Christine Montez told the council her personal property taken upon exit from the Wellness Center has not been returned and said she filed a police report. City staff said they would connect Ms. Montez with staff and with the Wellness Center operator (the contract operator is now Hope to Mission) to try to trace the property.

Speakers including Melissa Oh and Alexis de Jesus asked the city to expand vendor education beyond a single one-time workshop held May 16, 2024, with San Bernardino County Public Health. They said the city’s social-media messaging framed enforcement as vendor responsibility, while many vendors reported not having access to information about designated vending zones, licensing locations or how to comply. Several speakers urged the city to provide licensing assistance locally so vendors need not travel “down the hill” to obtain permits.

Nathan Sipe called for code-enforcement processes that respect community events and suggested the city restart multi-session educational workshops. Other public commenters argued that vendor enforcement disproportionately affects minority and low-income residents and urged the city to consider decriminalization or deprioritization of minor vendor licensing violations in favor of addressing substance abuse, traffic safety, and other public-safety priorities.

City staff responded during the meeting that staff and on-site operations personnel would follow up with speakers. William Wamas (homelessness solutions and housing manager) was identified in the audience and city staff said he would try to assist the resident whose property was missing. The city confirmed the Wellness Center operates with a contracted operator and staff said they would coordinate with that operator to trace property.