Food trucks proliferated in Long Beach during the COVID-19 pandemic, and became controversial over the last year — so much so that in August, the City Council approved hiring a food truck program coordinator, consolidating regulations and studying restrictions on where they could operate.
The state Legislature also passed laws easing regulations on street vendors serving food. Long Beach has not addressed street vendors yet, but officials said they planned to bring regulations to the City Council some time next year.
To help prepare for those changes, the city’s Department of Health and Human Services will host a workshop on Tuesday, Dec. 13, to explain how to get a Long Beach health permit — required to serve food — and the changes on the way to the California Retail Food Code.
The new state laws take effect on Jan. 1. State Senate Bills 972 and 946 both lower barriers for mobile food vendors. Street vendors have been championed by politicians in both Los Angeles and Long Beach — state Sen. Lena Gonzalez, D-Long Beach, was the author of SB 972.
“These are businesses,” Mayor-elect Rex Richardson, who is currently a councilmember, said during an August City Council meeting, “and I think we need to respect that and understand that food trucks really add to the character of our city.”
But food trucks have also prompted complaints, particularly from downtown businesses. Trucks have congregated on Shoreline Drive in front of the Pike Outlets and along Ocean Boulevard, taking up parking and, according to restaurant operators, taking business from brick-and-mortar restaurants.
The pending new regulations in Long Beach are a response to those concerns.
Long Beach has appointed Daniel Ramirez as acting food truck coordinator while completing the hiring process for a permanent one, according to city spokesperson Jennifer De Prez. A second phase of regulations is currently being considered; those regulations may include requiring a permit to operate in the public right-of-way, coordinating special events and operations on private property, and implementing procedures to handle nuisance abatement.
There still is debate whether the city will require a Long Beach health permit or will continue accepting a Los Angeles County permit. But next week’s workshop will explain the city’s application process.
“We want food-based businesses to succeed in Long Beach, and we also want the people who patronize these businesses to be safe from food-borne illness,” Judeth Luong, Environmental Health Bureau manager, said in a release. “We know obtaining a Health Permit can seem challenging, especially for small business owners, and this workshop will help ease the process for our food sidewalk vendors.”
While there are not specific regulations governing sidewalk vendors in Long Beach, the city is gathering information to create such an ordinance. The city has a survey, at bit.ly/3up2BZ5, that will be available through Dec. 18.
The workshop will be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 13, at Admiral Kidd Park, 2125 Santa Fe Ave. The city is asking for RSVPs at 562-570-4132 or envirionmentalhealth@longbeach.gov, but an RSVP is not required to attend.
There will be an incentive for vendors and food truck operators to attend — proof of attendance means a 10% discount on the first health permit.
