[sent to the Anaheim Council in advance of the upcoming meeting Tuesday Sept. 9]
For the last two months, starting right around when Trump’s ICE raids really started hitting Anaheim in July, Anaheim police (specifically Officers Stahoviack #2214 and Edgar #2461) have been ticketing and towing our neighborhood food trucks. It is a huge injury and insult to Anaheim’s Latino communities, and something the food truck owners cannot afford and don’t deserve.
The ticketing and towing is justified by ordinance 4.32.206, from 2018. This ordinance says that if a vehicle is over 7 feet high (and most food trucks are 10 feet high) it cannot be parked on a residential street for any length of time, or else the city is allowed to seize it.
1. This ordinance, for better or worse, was aimed at another group of people the 2018 Council didn’t like – folks who live in RV’s. It was never intended to be used against barrio food trucks.
2. Many of these food trucks have operated, with permits, for at least 30 years or more, with no problems.
3. I see that later in 14.32.330 it says officers of the City are “authorized and empowered to remove” these vehicles. It doesn’t say they have to. If some misbegotten instruction was given two months ago to begin enforcing this code against food trucks, then please immediately revoke that instruction.
4. Starting at 14.32.206.030 there is a long list of exemptions. Food trucks should be added to this list.
5. The tickets should also be revoked, and the hundreds of dollars these small Latino businessfolks paid to get their towed vehicles (and livelihoods) back should be refunded – they really cannot afford this.
Thank you for this attention to this matter, as the President would say. We all really hope to see some action on this by Tuesday!
YES ….!!! Happy Day …