At 6 p.m., during the Los Altos City Council meeting on Tuesday, September 10, the City Council will hear a recommendation from City Manager Marcia Somers to implement a new ordinance that regulates mobile food vendors in residential areas of Los Altos. Three of the five City Council members must vote in favor of the recommendation in order for a new ordinance to pass.

The recommendation follows a mid-July petition from Los Altos residents requesting a ban on food trucks in residential areas of Los Altos. MVLA District Superintendent Dr. Barry Groves also requested that the City Council place a ban on food trucks in residential areas, including the area surrounding Los Altos High School, in what he calls an attempt to fight childhood obesity.

The City Council discussed implementing a new ordinance to regulate food trucks in July of 2007, but the council decided to postpone action till a further discussion. A joint study and discussion on the matter took place in June 2008, but ultimately no action was taken.

In June of this year, the Mountain View City Council adopted a new ordinance that bans mobile vendors in certain parts of Mountain View. The ordinance prohibits mobile vendors from operating in Mountain View’s downtown area and adjacent to single-family homes or duplexes. It also restricts vending on private property for more than four hours in a day without a special permit. Somers cited Mountain View’s new ordinance in her recommendation to the Los Altos City Council.