Local Happenings

The Food Truck... Or... yet another reminder that things are seldom as simple as they seem

by Sharon Byrne

Iwant to say thanks to Penny Bianchi, Sally Bromfield, and others for reaching out to the Montecito Association on the food truck situation and engaging in a very complicated conversation.

This is not a simple case of a food truck being asked to leave Montecito by some pesky neighbors.

How we got here:

- Food trucks began appearing in Montecito early in 2022.

- We received a lot of complaints. So did sheriffs and CHP.

- The food trucks were parked on Olive Mill, on the 192 in front of the Randall Rd debris basin, at Butterfly Beach, and in the Casa Dorinda triangle (pre-landscaping).

- The complaints were about safety – you couldn’t see around the food truck when trying to navigate these roads, food truck patrons were parking haphazardly, etc. The food truck on Olive Mill partially blocked the bike lane at times.

The legal situation:

- The Montecito Land Use codes do not allow food trucks.

- Vendors can’t get a license from the county to sell roadside.

- The food truck’s presence here signaled other would-be roadside vendors that they too could drop people off to sell oranges, flowers, toys, or merchandise:

When I approached the roadside vendors, alarm bells went off. Except for the large operation immediately above, it was clear these were not micro-entrepreneurs just trying to make a go of it. They were working for someone, and they were afraid of that person. They didn’t have bathrooms nearby, or shade. They were being dropped off early in the morning and picked up in the evening. I

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