City officials recently ordered the owners of the food truck lot on Gayley and Le Conte Avenues to comply with city codes or to shut down later this month.
The dirt lot, which opened to customers in July, would need to obtain a parking lot permit and make several physical changes to its site to comply with city guidelines, such as paving the lot and adding defined parking lines.
Local business owners have voiced their concerns about the lot to city officials since it began attracting customers. The city took its first official action last month, ordering the lot to comply with all city regulations by Oct. 25.
The food trucks’ documented offenses include using the lot as a parking lot without a proper permit as well as advertising on the lot fence without a permit, said Luke Zamperini, assistant bureau chief in the Los Angeles City Department of Building and Safety.
The order was sent to the property owner, 900 Gayley Avenue Associates, LLC, which is run by landowner Barry Beitler. Beitler did not return a call for comment for this article.
On Thursday, Barry Fogel, who runs the food truck lot, said he had not received word of any city notices about the lot.
Some community members have feared the trucks present unfair competition and are not following the same rules as other businesses in the area.
Steve Sann, chair of the Westwood Community Council, said he sees each sale made by a food truck as a sale lost by a local restaurant. He thinks that brick-and-mortar restaurants may eventually have to close because of lost sales if such businesses are allowed, and hopes the city will enforce its regulations.
“It’s disappointing that the city took so long to cite this,” Sann said.
Sann added that the food truck business model does not contribute money to the Westwood Village Improvement Association, which provides services for keeping the village maintained and clean.
Despite concerns from local business leaders, Fogel thinks the food truck lot has improved the community, saying that a lot filled with places to eat is better for Westwood than an empty lot surrounded by fences.
Fogel added that the trucks pay sales taxes and pay to use the space.
For now, Fogel said he plans to keep the lot open indefinitely, and it is unclear if the city will enforce its order.