Arvin council opens review of truck‑parking rules after residents and truckers raise competing concerns

Council directed staff to research updates to Arvin Municipal Code chapter 12.16 on truck parking after staff and residents described conflicts where legal truck parking now sits adjacent to newer housing.

Contract planner Isaiah Medina told the council the ordinance governs parking and routing of trucks over 10,000 pounds and that designated truck‑parking streets and routes were established decades ago. Since then, residential development has encroached near those routes, and residents have complained about noise, vehicle maintenance on the street, blocked street sweeping and damage to sidewalks and curb returns. Medina outlined options including revising designated truck parking locations, creating minimum buffer distances from residential zones (for example 300–500 feet), expanding off‑street industrial parking, and pursuing public‑private partnerships for secure truck parking.

At public comment a self‑identified trucker and truckers association representative urged the council to consider trucker safety and parking scarcity, described repeated diesel thefts and vandalism to trucks, and alleged retaliatory treatment by local police tied to his political activity. He said many local truck owners are CARB‑compliant and warned that removing on‑street parking without alternatives would pose safety and operational problems.

Councilmembers and staff discussed enforcement of existing signage, whether certain parking locations fall under county jurisdiction, and where a new off‑street truck parking facility could be sited; staff noted preliminary talks with a property owner near the wastewater treatment plant and pointed to an existing commercial trucking site around the 99/223 junction as an option outside the city core. Staff requested additional time to verify existing legal parking locations, signage, and which streets are structurally designed for heavy vehicles, and the council asked staff to return at the first meeting in March with more concrete options.

The council emphasized the need to balance residents’ living conditions, truck drivers’ safety and operational needs, and the city’s ability to enforce any revised rules.