An increasing number of food trucks operate in the city center of Washington near tourist attractions and government offices. Sometimes the food trucks park on the sidewalks, curbside in the streets, and in parking spaces and tourist bus routes, thus, impeding pedestrians and interfering with vehicle traffic. The city enacts an ordinance that permits food trucks to operate only in designated, marked areas off sidewalks and off streets within the city.
Several food truck owners are upset and believe the ordinance is an unconstitutional interference with their rights to operate private businesses. They also believe the ordinance discriminates against them because brick and mortar businesses in the area do not have similar restrictions.
Which of the following statements is true about the ordinance?
A. The ordinance unduly discriminates against the food truck vendors as other businesses in the area are not similarly restricted.
B. The ordinance is a violation of the food truck vendors’ constitutional rights to operate their private businesses without undue interference from the government.
C. The city can justify the ordinance as a constitutional exercise of the right of governments to regulate private businesses for any reason under the interstate commerce clause.
D. The city can justify the ordinance as a constitutional exercise of its police power to protect the safety and welfare of the general public.