Call it a victory for ice cream truck drivers everywhere — with two scoops of preserving Americana tossed in at no charge.
The Redding City Council on Tuesday night voted to loosen restrictions on sound trucks, which influences the way ice cream truck businesses operate in the city. The ice cream trucks may now legally do business 365 days a year from 10 a.m. until sundown. The city’s 70-year-old regulations had barred Sunday and holiday operation and called for no operation after 7:30 p.m. in the summer.
In what was essentially a showdown between the Jiffy’s Ice Cream business (one of three ice cream truck businesses in Redding) and Parkview neighborhood resident Bill Ulch, the council unanimously sided with the ice cream truck owner.
“Ice cream trucks are part of summer life and growing up and running barefoot out to get ice cream,” said councilwoman Mary Stegall. “I know there are issues of noise and noise pollution, but I can’t find anyone in this community who says that it makes any sense they have to quit at 7:30 p.m. (in the summer).”
Ulch had urged the city for tighter sound truck restrictions including shutting down the trucks 90 minutes before sunset and requiring them to run only Monday through Friday. He also complained that the trucks were operating outside of the current regulations on hours and days.
“I’m not trying to crush the ice cream man,” Ulch said on Tuesday. “But does the (truck) noise have to penetrate a house? I don’t think that’s necessary.”
Ulch also argued that because homes in Parkview are typically located closer to the street than in other neighborhoods, the ice cream truck melodies have a more penetrating impact. He also questioned the city about its lack of decibel meters and inability to actually monitor sound.
“There’s no capacity to measure noise,” Ulch said. “Noise meters are cheap. I recommend getting one.”
The council structured the regulation changes to include a requirement that the trucks not exceed a volume of 75 decibels at 150 feet. Jiffy’s Ice Cream owner Jeff Hostetter said his trucks set their maximum volume for music at the 75 decibels at 150 feet.
The meeting included several lighter moments with laughter and several rounds of applause from the pro ice cream truck audience.
“How can we be in a world of regulating ice cream trucks?” asked council member Rick Bosetti, echoing a sentiment that the issue perhaps bordered on absurdity.
In a separate matter earlier in the evening, the council voted unanimously to accept a $1.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice COPS program to fund the salaries of four full-time entry-level police officers.
The federal stimulus grant is a boon, considering the Redding Police Department was scheduled to lay off four officers due to budget shortfalls. The grant funds four entry-level officers for three years, although the city is required to commit to keeping the officers on the force for at least one year after the grant expires.
Total compensation for each officer targeted for layoff was around $135,000 a year. A $12,000 gap between what rookie officers make in annual salaries and benefits will have to be accounted for.
Police, fire and city employee salaries and benefit packages have been a major issue in the current city council political race and source of tension between the current council and law enforcement labor unions.
The city council on Tuesday recessed to a closed session with city and law enforcement labor negotiators.
As for the business of ice cream trucks, the evening seemed lighthearted amid an undercurrent of much weightier issues to come in the future.
The meeting kicked off with a public comment session than included a message from Global Happiness Summit ambassador Edwin Edebiri, who stressed the importance of raising community happiness.
Following his appearance, many speakers referred to various levels of happiness.
Jiffy’s Ice Cream owner Hostetter added, “I’m in the business of happiness. We like what we do and we’ve been here for 19 years doing it.”
It appears that any rocky roads in terms of Redding ice cream truck regulations just got a lot smoother.
Jim Dyar is a news, arts and entertainment journalist for A News Cafe and the former arts and entertainment editor for the Record Searchlight’s D.A.T.E. section. Jim is also a songwriter and leader of the Jim Dyar Band. He lives in Redding. E-mail him at jimd.anewscafe@gmail.com.
A News Cafe, founded in Shasta County by Redding, CA journalist Doni Greenberg, is the place for people craving local Northern California news, commentary, food, arts and entertainment. Views and opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of anewscafe.com.
