Whittier : New Law to Ban Ice Cream Vendors From School Areas

Complaints that schoolchildren run recklessly into streets after ice cream trucks have prompted Whittier officials to draft a new law that would ban vendors from selling goods within 1,000 feet of public and private schools.

Currently, ice cream trucks often park close to schools to wait for students leaving campus, officials said.

The ordinance was fashioned after similar laws in nearby Santa Fe Springs and Pico Rivera. The ordinance will take effect March 4, if it passes a second reading at the next City Council meeting. The new ordinance will affect about eight to 10 city-licensed vendors.

School administrators and city leaders “expressed concern that vendors tend to cause children to dart across the streets,” City Clerk Gertrude L. Hill said. “They felt it was a very unsafe condition for the children.”