FOUNTAIN VALLEY : Law Aimed at Long, Loud Truck Idling
The City Council has adopted an ordinance that prohibits noisy, idling vehicles from being parked for more than 10 minutes in residential neighborhoods between the hours of 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.
The ordinance targets refrigerated trucks that are left running for several hours while grocery store deliveries are unloaded. “The intent is not to cite trucks that run for 10 minutes or even a half an hour,” Mayor Laurann Cook said, “but those that are there for hours or all night and disturb nearby residents.”
However, it sometimes takes up to three hours to unload the delivery trucks, said Ken Mackenzie, co-owner of TranStar Refrigerated Transportation in Brea. “The California Trucking Assn. was asked to make deliveries off peak traffic hours, which means the middle of the night,” he said.
The trucks comply with noise levels set by state law, Mackenzie said, and the vehicles need to run continuously to maintain food safety. “If you expect (drivers) to just shut down, I suggest that you take it up with the board of health before making this ordinance law,” Mackenzie said.
The citations, which carry a fine of up to $1,000 and a jail term of up to six months, will be issued only if a complaint is made, Cook said.
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