"These places would be open in many cases 12 hours or more," she said. "You can imagine that with employees as well as patrons, (bathroom access) was an issue and a concern. For them to go in and use the local businesses' (bathrooms) became problematic."

Saxton said the amendments to the ordinance are not meant to target a specific group of vendors but rather to address complaints and bring city code in line with state law and Salt Lake Valley Heath Department regulations.

Renteria said he and vendors plan to meet soon with city officials in an effort to get the ordinance repealed, delayed or have existing businesses grandfathered in. The amended ordinance, he said, seems focused primarily on "making it prohibitive to do business in the city."

City officials conducted a training session about the new rules and regulations Tuesday and have another one planned for 6 p.m. Dec. 4 at the Pete Suazo Business Center, 960 W. 1700 South. The training is conducted in both English and Spanish.

"I happen to think some of the requirements are onerous," Valdez said, "but they're now the law. We need to help (vendors) understand them. We also want to help them understand how to get involved and try to change some of those things."

---

E-mail: jpage@desnews.com; dbulkeley@desnews.com