los banos caLOS BANOS, CA – According to the Los Banos Enterprise, their planning commission weighed the rights of a taco truck to operate near a gas station that sells burritos, tamales and other items on Wednesday.

According to the report:

Commissioner Tom Spada sided with the gas station.

“The Valero has food similar to what the taco truck’s going to have and I have a concern about that,” Spada said. “I don’t see it as fair.”

Another commissioner, Arkady Faktorovich said he believes not allowing the taco truck is unAmerican.

“I’m from the former Soviet Union. For someone to come forward and say, ‘Oh, you can’t do business because it’s a competitor and I don’t want (you) in my back yard’ reminds me of my former country,” Faktorovich said. “I say the business has a right to open. It’s just a friendly good competition. That’s what this country’s built on.”

Los Banos’ ordinance states that no mobile vendor can operate within 500 feet of a similar business. Some commissioners argued that a gas station with a convenience store that sells food is not the same as a food truck. They compared the taco truck to a restaurant that would offer the same menu items.

Luckily, the commission voted to approve the taco truck’s permit (4 to 2), but they are now planning to review the city’s current legislation which governs mobile food vendors.