As a college student, Tommy Chu said he finds himself lucky to be able to get an inexpensive hot dinner every night of the week on North Atlantic Boulevard in Monterey Park.

After studying in one of the nearby cafes, Chu said he makes his way to the food trucks in front of Ralph’s supermarket to get one-dollar tacos or foods that fit within his tight budget.

Some find the trucks controversial. Chu sees them as a lifeline. “I know no matter how late I’m out studying, I can ride my bike over here and get something cheap and good,” he said.

The stretch of Atlantic in front of Ralph’s has become a popular spot for food trucks to park over the past few years. Most nights, five or more food trucks offering a variety of cuisines park there from about 7 p.m. until midnight, with some staying even later.

While the trucks are popular among some residents, others have lodged complaints against them with the city, claiming they block the view from driveways in and out of Ralph’s and that they lead to littering. With the city looking at adding new regulations on the trucks, changes may be coming to Monterey Park’s unofficial food truck row.

One of the more significant changes proposed by the City Council at its meeting Wednesday was limiting the times food trucks could operate. Councilmen Peter Chan and Stephen Lam suggested adding a two-hour limit for the trucks to park in any one spot.

Lam even suggested painting the entire curb in front of Ralph’s red to block food trucks from parking there.

Mayor Teresa Real Sebastian said painting the whole stretch red would lead to the trucks moving elsewhere, possibly across the street on the west side of Atlantic, where people commonly park for the businesses and eateries there.

Monterey Park resident Dominic Alanis works in the Kenbo Foods 2.0 truck, which offers Chinese snacks such as popcorn chicken and fried tofu. If the curb is painted red or the city enacts time limits, he’ll park elsewhere, but the area would lose the sense of community the trucks have built in two years there.

“It’s been really nice to see the same faces and friends stopping by,” Alanis said. “We’re a fixture in the community now.”

City staffers also suggested a ban on food trucks with health department grades below “C” from operating in the city, but Sebastian said she opposed that because the same standard wouldn’t apply to brick-and-mortar restaurants.

On Thursday night, all of the four trucks parked there had a grade of A.

Another suggestion made by several council members was to find either city-owned or privately owned empty lots where the food trucks could relocate. However, City Manager Ron Bow cautioned the council that setting the space aside would not ensure food trucks would frequent the location.

City Councilman Mitchell Ing requested city staff take the council’s ideas to form an ordinance and present it to the council as soon as possible.

“Residents have been complaining about this for six months,” Ing said. “We don’t want them to have to wait for another six months.”

Hsin Chang, who operates the Taiwan Rock food truck that offers Chinese-inspired burritos, said he hopes the city’s regulations aren’t too restrictive.

“Regulations don’t help small businesses much,” said Chang, who said the truck is there every night except Sundays. “I hope it only affects illegal food trucks.”