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Council urges city attorney to challenge court ruling that curtails local truck-route authority
Summary
After a recent appellate decision limiting municipalities’ authority to regulate truck traffic, the council asked the city attorney to pursue options including an appeal, an amici brief, and outreach to other cities.
The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously on Nov. 14 to ask the city attorney to review and pursue legal options after an appellate court ruling curtailed municipalities’ ability to regulate truck routes and cargo.
Councilmember Hahn described the decision — cited during debate as affecting local road and cargo regulation — as removing an important local tool to protect residential neighborhoods from trucks seeking faster routes to the Port of Los Angeles. “This severely limits our ability to regulate truck traffic in our own city,” Hahn said, recounting measures used in her district to block truck routes and describing local safety and quality-of-life concerns in Wilmington and San Pedro.
Council members debated options including the existing weight-based local restrictions for streets and whether those could remain enforceable. Several members said they wanted the city attorney present to explain the ruling’s scope; the city attorney’s office offered a briefing on Friday. The motion passed instructing the city attorney to write to the California attorney general urging appeal, to investigate filing an amici curiae (friend-of-the-court) brief, and to contact the League of California Cities so other municipalities could be alerted.
Council recorded the vote as 13 ayes. Members said they will pursue a legal review and return with recommendations and any follow-up actions. The item was also scheduled for an attorney briefing on the council agenda for Friday.
