Produce-truck owners, residents urge Anaheim to stop ticketing and towing; ask for refunds and ordinance changes

Several Anaheim produce‑truck vendors and community members told the City Council on Sept. 9 that recent ticketing and towing of produce trucks is hurting small businesses and the city’s most vulnerable residents.

Speakers said the vehicles pay multiple permits and registrations — a City of Anaheim business license, an Orange County health permit and a police registration that includes fingerprinting — and that many vendors have operated in Anaheim for decades. “I cannot continue with my business,” vendor Amar Verma (listed in public comment as Amar Verma/Vermejo) told the council. Verma said an officer had been issuing weekly $75 citations and that he paid $600 to retrieve a towed truck.

The concerns focused on a municipal parking ordinance adopted in 2018 that prohibits vehicles taller than 7 feet from parking on residential streets; speakers said that rule was long enforced against RVs, not produce vendors. Several commenters said the code has been enforced against trucks 10 feet high without prior warning and that some owners paid $500–$1,500 to recover trucks from impound. Mark Kerber, who identified himself with anaheimgrease.com, said two owners faced more than $1,500 each and others had $550 or $79 fines for a single night’s parking.

Public commenters asked the council to do three things: (1) rescind and refund tickets issued under this enforcement, (2) add a permanent exemption for permitted produce trucks to the code, and (3) suspend citywide enforcement while staff crafts a durable fix. A speaker who represents vendor organizers urged the city to add an exemption in the ordinance’s exemption list (quoted in public comment as starting at “14.32 0.206 0.03”) so that permitted produce trucks would not be subject to the height‑based parking rule.

No formal council vote on code changes or refunds appears on the record from tonight’s meeting. Multiple council members and speakers thanked organizers and city staff named in public comment (Norma, Kristen, Carlos and Mariana) for beginning conversations; council members said staff would be asked to review the issue. Several public speakers also attributed a short, temporary pause in enforcement in specific neighborhoods to city action, but that pause was reported by commenters and not recorded as a formal council motion at the meeting.

City staff and speakers highlighted practical details that would affect any fix: the trucks’ multiple permit requirements, background checks done at the police department, and the fact that some trucks serve neighborhoods with limited grocery access. Speakers asked that existing fines and towing charges paid by vulnerable small business owners be refunded and urged a citywide exemption rather than a neighborhood‑by‑neighborhood approach.

The discussion concluded with requests that staff return with options: administrative exemptions or an ordinance amendment that would exempt permitted produce trucks; a plan to refund unjustified towing/ticket fees; and a timeline for any temporary enforcement pauses. Councilmembers expressed urgency about finding an equitable solution that preserves public safety while protecting small businesses and food access.

Next steps: the council did not take a formal vote on code changes during the meeting. Public commenters asked the city to rescind individual tickets and refund towing fees; speakers said some owners had already paid hundreds to recover impounded trucks. Staff was asked to examine the municipal code exemption structure and report back to the council for possible ordinance amendments or administrative relief.