Food Fight: City Councilmember Wants to Look into Limiting Food Truck Parking

Published June 12, 2010 at 2:15 a.m.

Another motion asks for "the creation of specially designated parking zones for catering trucks."

But this might not bode well for LaBonge or the city council, which faces an industry with growing political power and case law in their favor. "This regulation is short sighted," said Matt Geller of the SoCal Mobile Vendors Association (SCMVA).

Geller says the California Vehicle code does not allow cities to limit vending from vehicles for just any reason. The code says local agencies may only "adopt additional requirements for the public safety regulating the type of vending and the time, place, and manner of vending from vehicles upon any street."

"I think they're going to be hard prssed to get over that," said Geller.

Although there's an estimated 4,000 taco trucks operating within Los Angeles County, there are about 100 of the newer brand of food trucks that have gained popularity over the last year. And under the umbrella of the SCMVA, they've been using the power of Twitter to activate customers into political agents. On the June 8th primary, a candidate they rallied around won the Democratic nomination.

Geller says, however, he does look forward to working LaBonge and the City Council in coming weeks. He's confident something can be worked out, especially considering that Los Angeles lost a court case last year dealing with food trucks. Citing the vehicle code, a judge asked the city how banning catering trucks from streets enhanced or furthered public safety. If anything, many believe, street food has created a positive culture of community on the streets.

Added: Councilmember Paul Koretz, who has been the focus of food truck issues before, seconded both of LaBonge's motions.

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