A law that makes it difficult for a food truck or lunch wagon to operate legally on city streets could be relaxed under a new proposal before the City Council.

The bill was introduced Thursday by City Councilwoman Tulsi Gabbard on behalf of mobile food vendors who say the Honolulu Police Department has been cracking down on them in recent months, issuing a few citations and a slew of warnings.

The law says no vendor or peddler can operate for more than 15 minutes in one spot on a street or public highway. The bill introduced Thursday would increase to two hours the time a vendor is allowed to sell food or merchandise.

The law has been on the books for years and is believed to have been designed to address concerns about T-shirt and souvenir vendors in Waikiki and other tourist spots. It’s unclear whether the law has even been applied to food vendors, who for decades have been allowed to park their trucks roadside from Kahuku to Campbell Industrial Park to Kewalo Basin.

The latest controversy arises just as a new crop of food trucks has sprouted along streets across Oahu.

Among the recent generation of mobile food vendors is Camille Komine, whose Camille’s on Wheels truck has been gaining popularity for its fusion tacos, meatloaf and desserts since it opened a year ago. Among frequent customers are city Managing Director Douglas Chin and City Council members, she said.

Komine said she and other vendors are being issued warnings when they park on Punchbowl and Mililani streets, and are being told to leave their parking stalls after 15 minutes. They’re also being reminded that refusing to do so is a petty misdemeanor punishable by up to a month in jail and a maximum fine of $1,000. Multiple offenses could also result in loss of a vending permit, a Honolulu Police Department representative said.

The law is antiquated and was not designed to address food trucks or lunch wagons, Komine said. It takes more than 15 minutes to set up and break down, she said.

"The irony is two days ago I hear (President) Obama saying, ‘We gotta put people back to work,’" Komine said. "I’m working! I’m working harder than I ever have! I started a business."

HPD spokeswoman Michelle Yu said enforcement warnings have been issued, along with two citations.

Yu said officers are enforcing the law "in response to community complaints about lunch trucks taking up limited parking spaces," particularly in the downtown area.

Gabbard said she introduced the bill after speaking to different people in the community. "Some of the small-business owners who run these lunch trucks have expressed concern about an outdated law," she said.

"I think this is something that’s important, it’s fair and it’s practical," Gabbard said. "We need to be able to support our small-business owners who are the backbone of our local economy here."

While some have complained that the food truck vendors have an unfair advantage because they don’t need to pay for a storefront operation, Komine points out that they need to obtain a tax license, vendor permit and Department of Health permit as well as carry liability insurance.

Among those cited recently was the owner of Aloha Ice Cream, a vendor who parks his tricycle on the sidewalk in front of Alli’iolani Hale, where the Supreme Court convenes, on South King Street.

Marcus Landsberg, the vendor’s attorney, said a District Court judge threw out the case at the end of October, citing a lack of evidence that there was a violation. But Landsberg said his client’s situation is a little different from other vendors’. Because of the size of the vehicle, it can be parked on the sidewalk without disrupting vehicular or pedestrian traffic flow.

Landsberg said the law is clear, but said it is antiquated and should be changed. He said he supports Gabbard’s proposal. "If they give out peddlers’ licenses, people should be allowed to peddle."

He said it makes no sense that a vendor charged with going over the 15-minute limit faces a stiffer penalty than someone who chooses to conduct the same operation with no permit at all. "It’s better not to be a registered vendor," he said.

The owners of Simply Ono, a presence around the downtown lunch wagon scene for more than a decade, decided to leave the area altogether after receiving warnings from police.

Co-owner Harris Sukita acknowledged that Simply Ono had been staying on Punchbowl Street for longer than 15 minutes at a time. But he said he began doing so only after 10 years of paying the city a monthly fee to operate on City Hall mall grounds as other vendors worked the area in violation of the ordinance without being cited.

"We’re not going to fight it anymore. We’re just wasting our time," Sukita said. Simply Ono operates at several other locations, including on private property at the University of Hawaii and outside its own kitchen in Kalihi.

Sukita said he feels sorry for many of the more recent vendors. "Some of these kids spend bucks — $50,000 to $100,000" to set up a food truck operation, he said.

Gabbard’s bill would solve much of the problem for the vendors. Even the two-hour limit would be difficult to enforce, he said. "Technically, they’d have to be there for two hours monitoring you to tag you. What cop is going to sit there for two hours and monitor it for two hours?"

Folks visiting Camille’s Lunchwagon on Thursday said lunch wagons should be allowed to operate, so long as the operators feed parking meters when required like everyone else.

University of Hawaii student Carly Namaka, 19, brought her father, Joe, to Camille’s to try her grilled-cheese sandwich with poblano peppers. "They should give food trucks special permits to operate," she said.

Volcano resident Gino Lucas, 59, said the wagon is operating in an area far away from any sit-down restaurant. "Their prices are reasonable and they are providing a convenience," he said.

Hawaii Restaurant Association Executive Director Roger Morey said his organization also supports the bill. "If you have a law that’s been around forever and doesn’t serve the needs of the people, you should consider changing the law," he said.

Most lunch wagon and food truck owners do not belong to the association, he said, adding he wishes they did.

"They provide good value and good meals can be found," Morey said.