That said, Los Angeles is not perfect — for example, certain councilmembers continue to seek to protect favored interests through “special” anti-food truck regulations disguised as commercial vehicle regulations limited to the councilmembers’ districts. In addition to rejecting this kind of stealth protectionism, city leaders should look for ways to reduce the overall regulatory burden on food trucks while still protecting public health and safety. And although the city welcomes food trucks, its regulations for sidewalk vendors are some of the worst in the country. That needs to change.
But those issues, although pressing, can wait until next week. On Sunday, Angelenos should tune into “The Great Food Truck Race” and celebrate the fact that they live in the best food-truck city in America.
Bert Gall is a senior attorney at the Institute for Justice. Jeffrey Dermer is Managing Partner of Dermer Behrendt and General Counsel for the Southern California Mobile Food Vendors Association.
