you're in violation of the new taco truck ordinance
"We're talking about unchecked aggression here, dude" - Walter Sobchak
The LA City Council has passed a draconian ordinance against hard working taco vendors. When I first heard of this I did not believe it. "Not my city" I said out loud "not Los Angeles". But it's true my friends, the taco culture in Los Angeles as we know it is under attack.
There may be some legitimate concerns with traffic and restaurant owners but this policy will not solve these issues. This ordinance only adds confusion to the problem where a creative solution would be more beneficial. This is a law that if policed effectively could put many taco vendors out of business. This is all but a ban on taco trucks when you consider the ordinance allows a truck only one hour at a location before they must move and find another location a half-mile away.
When looking at this problem the city council did not take into account the cultural institution the taco truck is in Los Angeles. The taco truck adds character to the working class neighborhoods of our fine city and many taco trucks are an extension of their communities where locals gather to enjoy tacos and socialize. These loyal taco truck patrons expect their farmiliar truck to be at it's normal location every day. I'm afraid if these taco trucks were forced to move from their location it could tear at this fabric of community. Angelenos from all walks of life rub elbows at taco trucks enjoying plates of tacos and a cold beverages. This ordinance threatens this taco truck culture.
So I ask the City Hall this...Does LA really want to lose an important part of her identity?
The future is now my friends. Either we can sit back and allow the government to chip away at the indentity of our city or we can do something about it. I urge all taco hunt readers to email city council members to voice their concerns.
Catering Trucks Get New Parking Rules
(CBS) LOS ANGELES The Los Angeles City Council Wednesday approved an ordinance that restricts parking for catering trucks in order to protect businesses and keep traffic flowing on city streets.
Food truck drivers will be limited to parking in commercial areas for up to an hour. Vendors must then move their trucks more than a half-mile away for at least an hour before they can return.
In residential neighborhoods, the trucks can remain parked in the same spot for 30 minutes before having to move to another location more than a half-mile away.
(more at url)
This isn't quite the disaster you might think. Many taco trucks actually park for the evening in the lots of commercial enterprises. Garcia Brothers (Venice/La Cienega), La Estrella (York/Avenue 54), El Pecas #2 (Olympic/La Brea) come to mind immediately, and I've seen dozens more around the city. I'm sure that the enterprising operators of these mobile taquerias will start negotiating agreements to park in the lots of businesses that close up at 5 or 6.
ReplyDeleteyes some trucks park on lots but most trucks do not. Most registered taco truck operators park on the street during their business hours and then return their truck to a parking lot that houses catering trucks.
ReplyDeletesome trucks have been at street locations for many years. For example La Isla Bonita has been parking at the same spot for over 10 yrs.
Actually, it is a disaster, mainly because these types of rules lead to selective enforcement, meaning that there will not be one rule that applies to everyone, only to those someone has targeted for enforcement. Not all taco trucks can get space in parking lots and nor should they have to need them. Why not use our miles and miles of paved streets for something practical like getting your grub? The fools that run this city are too quick to destroy the interesting cultural traits of LA just to appease their moneyed friends, that ain't right.
ReplyDeleteI've posted my own thoughts on the subject here:
http://chanfles.com/blog/?p=97
Are we talking about long-term parking during the day, or at night? 30 minutes in one spot is still plenty of time for taco trucks that cater to nannies, construction workers, etc. in residential neighborhoods, since those trucks are going from place to place anyway. At night, demand for parking on commercial streets goes way down, so I am really surprised that this ordinance is gonna be in effect 24/7. Nobody benefits from that, because the average taco truck customer isn't about to go to Taco Bell or Del Taco.
ReplyDeleteI suspect that this ordinance is being driven by complaints from merchants in parking-scarce areas that have catering trucks parked on the street during the day. I know that there's one such truck in the boutique corridor on Robertson, beloved by employees of some of the office buildings nearby but detested by shop owners who want as many spaces available as possible in case Paris or Lindsay comes rolling up. Of course, the city could just up the fees on the parking meters to get people in and out more quickly, with the extra revenue going right back to the businesses like they do in Old Town Pasadena, but that would make sense. (Y'all oughta read Don Shoup's The High Cost of Free Parking sometime. It's brilliant, seriously.)
On that note, I am continually amazed at how many commercial strips in this city don't have metered parking, and how low the prices are on the existing meters. When I used to have 8:00 class at USC I would park on Vermont Avenue and pay a dollar for four hours--across the street from my building! That's absurdly low.
the ordinance affects all trucks day and night not just lunch time catering trucks. They may not be able to enforce it 24/7 but there was an article in the daily breeze that said lawyers at city hall are trying to raise the fines to make it worthwhile to enforce.
ReplyDeletetry the meters in downtown LA. A quarter gets you 7 minutes :)
That's terrible. There's this one taco truck in LA that's been there for 10+ years and even been featured on the news as one of LA's best taco trucks. This ordinance would affect them heavily. Thanks for the notice.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, this was the one I asked if you checked out... It's on Venice/Cattaraugus... 6pm-1am mon-sat i believe.
ReplyDeleteis it rico's taco truck? I reviewed them. Great tacos
ReplyDeleteThis ordinance may not affect them because they park on a lot.
That's positively criminal!
ReplyDeleteAnd I just heard that today (6/12/06) is actually National Taco Day!
Boo!
ReplyDeleteReading the details of the ordinance (here), found with less hassle than I thought linked online from the May 31, 2006 agenda, the time limits apply only during operating hours. It's effective July 23, too.
Still, this should make it more difficult to find some of the tasty looking food highlighted at this great blog... Keep up the hunt!
Here's how they voted:
ReplyDeletehttp://cityclerk.lacity.org/cvvs/search/votedetails.cfm?voteid=20301&rnd=0.310802258187
Bandini, i believe the name on the truck is Rudy's. Venice/Cattaraugus 6pm-1am... supposedly KCAL 9 News ranked them #1. $1.10 per taco.
ReplyDeleteThought this was cool too, this taco guy has them mapped out with google. It'd be cool to see that kind of info on your site.
http://www.lostacotrucks.com/
That's terrible. There's this one taco truck in LA that's been there for 10+ years and even been featured on the news as one of LA's best taco trucks. This ordinance would affect them heavily. Thanks for the notice.
ReplyDeleteyes some trucks park on lots but most trucks do not. Most registered taco truck operators park on the street during their business hours and then return their truck to a parking lot that houses catering trucks.
ReplyDeletesome trucks have been at street locations for many years. For example La Isla Bonita has been parking at the same spot for over 10 yrs.
That's positively criminal!
ReplyDeleteAnd I just heard that today (6/12/06) is actually National Taco Day!