Patterson council, taco truck vendors agree on new rules

By EVE HIGHTOWER
ehightower@modbee.com

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PATTERSON -- In a display of solidarity, taco truck owners and their family members packed City Hall to convey they are upstanding business owners who comply with laws, but worry that over-regulation could hurt business.

By meeting's end, they agreed new mobile food vendors should have to comply with a list of new requirements.

Council members unanimously supported a new mobile food vendor ordinance, which limits sales to paved surfaces, requires vendors to provide on-site parking, and limits trucks' hours to 8 a.m. to midnight Sunday through Thursday and until 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday.

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Mayor Becky Campos disliked a portion of the ordinance that requires new food vendors to buy a $1,140 conditional-use permit.

"It seems a little bit elevated," she said.

City staff said it would reconsider that fee, and bring it back to the council.

Juan Daniel Virgen, who represented the group by summarizing their concerns to the council, called the decision a success.

Vendors who already have business licenses and have paid their fees won't be affected by the new ordinance unless they move their business elsewhere in the city.

It comes more than a year after talk of regulation began.

Neighbors' complaints that the trucks draw loud crowds late into the night to a dusty strip of land along railroad tracks along First Street ignited the issue.

Councilman Sam Cuellar, who brought the issue to the council, said he didn't intend to hurt anyone's business.

Vendors said they are just trying to make an honest living.

"Like everyone, I dream of living a little better, and of being somebody in life so my children could be proud of their parents and what they've accomplished," Joaquin Pelayo said.

Genaro Gonzalez shares his sentiment.

"I'm here to pull my family forward," he said in Spanish. "The taco truck is a stepping stone."

Patterson isn't alone in its attempts to regulate taco trucks.

Ceres differentiates between mobile vendors and taco trucks, and does not allow taco trucks.

Modesto does not limit the number of taco trucks to an area, but trucks are restricted to industrial lots and must get the landowner's permission.

Riverbank has a tight time limit on food vendors -- 15 minutes to a spot.

Turlock, which is trying to clarify the line between mobile food vendor and restaurant, decided in 2000 to limit the number of taco trucks on East Avenue and Center Street to four. Vendors have to get city approval before opening shop.

The Stanislaus County Department of Environmental Resources inspects food vendors and mandates they display certification stickers with their expiration dates, park within 200 feet of an approved restroom, prepare all food inside the vehicle, maintain a food safety certificate and store food in a commissary at which vehicles can be cleaned.

To comment, click on the link with this story at www.modbee.com. Bee staff writer Eve Hightower can be reached at ehightower@modbee.com or 578-2382.