Sergio Merida and his relatives built taco trucks into a family business.
To sell their fresh-cooked tacos, carnitas and tortas, each day they spread out across Palos Verdes Estates -- Merida to the east, his wife, Maggie Avila, to the center, and Sonia Avila, Maggie's mother, to the west.
At lunchtime, Merida and Sonia Avila would pull alongside a small park and spend two hours feeding gardeners, construction workers and nannies, and the occasional local.
The workers gobbled up the food, which they appreciated, since in this city tucked against the ocean, they otherwise might have had to drive a long way to get a cheap lunch.
"It saves us time, it saves us money," said Ramon Lezama, as he waited for his quesadilla next to his work site.
But nearby residents saw the trucks differently, complaining of traffic and litter. "It was just disruptive to the neighborhood," City Manager Joseph Hoefgren said.
Last summer, the City Council took action.
No longer could loncheras set up for hours at parks or construction sites. Instead, they could stop only at sites where a bathroom was available to patrons, and stay just half an hour, barely enough time to set up and prepare a meal or two before having to break down and drive away again. In addition, all employees had to get background checks.
Palos Verdes Estates is hardly the only community to crack down on the trucks in recent years. Los Angeles County supervisors last year passed an ordinance making it a misdemeanor for taco trucks to park in unincorporated spots for more than an hour after restaurateurs complained they were siphoning off customers. A Superior Court judge later ruled the law unconstitutional.
Similar restrictions have been imposed nationwide in cities large and small, rural and metropolitan, from Hughson, Calif., to Houston, and in seemingly unlikely spots, including Des Moines; Charlotte, N.C.; and Hillsboro, Ore.
As the Latino population has grown across the United States, so have the number of taco trucks catering to them.
How communities approach them varies widely.
Suburban Jefferson Parish, La., banned them. So did Hughson, in the San Joaquin Valley. But nearby Turlock established a taco truck plaza.
"They're very popular among city employees," said Turlock's planning director, Debbie Whitmore.
