LA Food Truck Operators Could Face Graduated Fines

LOS ANGELES - Food truck operators who regularly park in illegal spots and eat the cost of the ticket as part their overhead may soon have to move on down the block following a vote Tuesday by the Los Angeles City Council.

Current city law only allows one ticket to be issued per day for a parking violation, but the council is set to vote on drafting an ordinance that would create a graduated system of fines or the possibility of issuing multiple tickets in a day.

The motion for creating the ordinance was approved by the Transportation Committee on Jan. 11 and stemmed from complaints about food trucks in the Brentwood area.

Councilman Mike Bonin, who is the committee's chair and represents Brentwood as part of his district, said food trucks that regulalry park near the intersection of Bundy Drive and Shetland Lane have caused a public safety hazard and several serious car accidents have occurred there.

The accidents included a woman who was eight-and-a-half months pregnant who was injured because she was hit by another car at an intersection while trying to make a left turn and was unable to see around an illegally parked food truck, Bonin said.

"We have a system now that hasn't been particularly effective at addressing the problem of some of these vehicles parking sometimes in very difficult places at key intersection that are creating a public safety problem. And part of the problem is that DOT's practice and habit is to issue one $73 dollar ticket," Bonin said.

"And to most folks, these things are very profitable, particularly on the upper scale, and they just eat that $73 cost as part of doing business. And so we want to see if there can be a graduated system or if we can issue repeated citations throughout the day."

Members of the Brentwood Homeowners Association and the Brentwood Neighborhood Council both appeared before the committee to advocate for a change in the law.

"It was very dangerous, people were sent to the hospital because of not being able to see around the trucks," Nancy Freedman of the Brentwood Neighborhood Council told the committee.

The Southern California Food Truck Association did not return a call requesting comment.

If the council approves the motion, the city attorney's office would be directed to draft an ordinance that would then come back to the full council for a vote.

- City News Service / Image via Eden, Janine and Jim Flickr Creative Commons