S. Main Street Food Trucks Officially Banned
Posted by Daniel Antolin on Nov 23, 2011 - 6:37:08 AM
Main Street bar patrons near food truck. Photo still courtesy of SMPD.
SANTA MONICA—On
Tuesday, November 22, it took the Santa Monica City Council a matter of seconds to unanimously vote into law an ordinance that will ban food trucks and unhitched trailers from parking
along two blocks of southern Main Street on weekends during late night
hours.
Though the council intended to have the law in place in time for the coming holiday season, inebriated Santa Monicans will be able to get in some more late-night snacking for another 30 days before Christmas time. Thereafter, truck owners catering to such clientele on the affected portion of Main Street will have to pay a fine of $250, $1,000, or spend eight months in prison.
During early November, the governing body voted 6-1 to pass the ordinance's first reading. What brought the
issue to the forefront is how food trucks parked on Main Street between
Ocean Park Boulevard and Marine Street have been attracting large crowds
leaving local bars after 1:30 a.m. that have contributed to a unsafe
environment. And their numbers have increased because restaurants are
closed at that time.
At a November 8 city council meeting, Santa Monica Police
Department Captain Carol Larson showed a video shot in August and September within the span of
five days during late night hours. In the video, departing bar patrons
are congregating at these food trucks, crowding sidewalks and unsafely
sitting on curbs as they eat their food. In addition, they jaywalk and
hail cabs out in the middle of the street.
"Whereas people
before the vendor trucks began coming down there, they would make their
way to their cars, to cabs or on foot out of the area, but now its
become a party atmosphere, an actual attractive venue after hours,"
Larson said at the meeting.
"We have double parking cabs, and due to congestion of the pedestrians,
people are doing unsafe maneuvers to get around, and cross and leave
the area that they wouldn't ordinarily have to do if it was a clear and
safe street."
Alfonso Venegas,
SMPD's deputy chief, said at the time that four more officers and a sergeant had to
be hired since July, resulting in $67,000 in unfunded overtime, to be
able to better safeguard Main Street as nearby bars have
recently grown in popularity. Venegas said the problem continues
despite arrests being made and citations being issued, and that the
trucks cause crowds to remain in the area beyond 2 a.m. when bars close. The ordinance will ban them on Saturdays and Sundays from 1 a.m. to 3 a.m.
City Attorney
Marsha Jones Moutrie said the ordinance bans food trucks from a narrow
span of Main Street, as state law only allows the City of Santa Monica
to regulate them in narrow situations where there is a demonstrable
safety risk posed. The aim was to have the ordinance in place in time
for the holiday season, when more people will come to the city and add
to the street crowding problem, she said.
Matt Geller of the SoCal Mobile Food Vendors Association told Canyon News that the city investigated the matter thoroughly to make certain that public safety was at risk. This was done by looking at the effect food trucks have on Main Street, the Third Street Promenade area and on Pennsylvania Avenue at the request of members of the community.
But Geller took issue with how evenly the ban will be applied. Gellar said that while trucks could pose a safety risk because of the crowds they attract, the same could be said about the restaurants in the area that offer food from take-out windows. Both cater to hungry bar patrons.
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