Aram Ghoogasian: Controversy surrounding food trucks in Westwood overblown
By Aram Ghoogasian
July 15, 2014 3:20 p.m.
You’d be hard pressed to find people on the street that have problems with food trucks, but apparently a few small business owners aren’t too fond of them.
An empty lot on Gayley Avenue, which has gone unused for several years, is now being used as a parking lot for food trucks, adding to the Westwood food scene and giving students and city residents alike an extra restaurant option.
It seems like a harmless enough idea at first – food trucks tend to be immensely popular, especially with college students. But somehow, someway, it’s become a local economic issue.
A food truck parking lot means more food options, and more options means more competition for other eateries. Steve Sann, chair of the Westwood Community Council, told The Bruin that some restaurant owners may have to face “unfair competition” as a result. That’s where the controversy – if you want to call a squabble over some food trucks a “controversy” – comes in.
Sann described the idea as “a predatory way to peel off customers from brick-and-mortar restaurants,” and he may be right. The food trucks will likely draw crowds that could increase foot traffic for some businesses, while others may be hurt by them. But that’s a problem that all Westwood business owners have to face, food trucks or not. No legitimate business represents “unfair” competition for other businesses, not even mobile, temporary establishments.
Another possible concern is that the lot could be put to better use given its location. While that worry is legitimate, it isn’t reasonable to expect that privately owned land will be used the way everyone wants it to.
The issue doesn’t stop there. The Great Food Truck Debate found its way into a Westwood Neighborhood Council meeting last Wednesday. If this sounds like it’s getting interesting, it isn’t. Councilmembers actually had to sit down and discuss what the definition of a restaurant is.
Believe it or not, a document drafted by the city of Los Angeles in 1989 allows only six fast food restaurants on Gayley Avenue. This posed a seemingly ridiculous question for the council at their meeting last week: what is a fast food restaurant, exactly?
The document, which goes by the name of the “Westwood Village Specific Plan,” is loosely enforced and seems to be brought up as a last resort to thwart the food truck lot’s success. That effort is especially silly considering the Westwood Neighborhood Council has no real authority to enforce the guidelines in the document.
That’s right, even food trucks can fall victim to bureaucratic nonsense.
If this all seems completely overblown, that’s because it is. Competition is a huge part of owning a business in an economic system such as the United States’. It may be harsh, but it’s still a reality.
If you’re a college undergrad, chances are you don’t care about any of this hoopla. What matters is getting some food on a Thursday night when dining halls just won’t cut it (or if you can’t find a swipe). The short walk down Gayley for some food truck grub sounds like a good idea, whether or not the neighborhood council thinks it fits the label of “fast food restaurant” or some businesses feel threatened by it. Just get it done, Westwood.
