Long Beach City Council set to review food truck regulations

LONG BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- The Long Beach City Council is set to discuss the future of food trucks at a meeting on Tuesday.

At the center of the discussion is where these mobile businesses can set up.

For example, lunchtime in Long Beach can be hit or miss for food trucks like La Loteria. Huge Jimenez has owned the business for a year and said business is steady.

"If there's tourism, we do well. If there's no tourism, then it's very calm," Jimenez said.

He said on any given day, you'll find a number of food trucks parked along Shoreline Drive doing business.

For customers, it's just another food option in an area already saturated with plenty of restaurants.

"It's convenient, affordable and it's always here," said Mark Barnardo, who stopped by the truck on his lunch break. "It's a short walk. I don't have to go far and it's really good. I love it."

Yzabella Nuno also likes to grab a bite to eat at food trucks.

She said, "It's more faster. You don't have to wait. Sometimes it takes like an hour to get to those restaurants."

The Long Beach City Council is set to review a report on food truck regulations.

The council will look at where and how food trucks operate in the city and whether an additional permit from the city's health department is needed.

They're not expected to make a decision right away.

Jimenez said this all started after some restaurant owners complained about the food trucks taking their business.

"All we ask for is that they let us work just like them. Let them work how they've always worked but let us work," he said.

People who love the food trucks say there's plenty of business to go around.

"I really think it's unfair," said Barnardo. "Everyone's out here trying to make money, feed the community. People love it. It brings a lot of business to the area."

Jimenez adds, "More than anything we want an agreement. We don't want any problems with anyone and that they let us continue working like we have been doing."