When Christine Bernstein noticed Rockland's barbecue truck parked at Founder's Park along Union Street one recent Sunday, she knew something was wrong. The city's pilot program for food trucks does not allow the vehicles to park on city streets, so the barbecue truck was flouting the law. And even though trucks are allowed to set up in the parking lots of some city parks, Founder's Park is not on the list. So Bernstein confronted the man in the food truck.

"He told me that it didn't matter because nobody was enforcing the regulations anyway," said Bernstein. "And I couldn't argue with that because he had a good point."

She called the non-emergency number for the Alexandria Police Department, but then a half hour came and went. So she called again, then fired off an email to city officials complaining about the lack of enforcement and what she feels is the lack of standards to evaluate the program. About an hour after Bernstein made the first call, the officer arrived and told the driver to move on, although he did not write a citation. That prompted a flurry of e-mails between Old Town residents and city officials, who eventually decided to let the Department of Planning and Zoning handle the issue on Monday. That's when a $100 citation was issued.

"It's unfortunate that one of the first things to happen was this violation to happen in north Old Town," said Councilman Paul Smedberg, who saw the Rocklands truck the previous day at Windmill Hill Park. "Clearly we are going to have to be very vigilant here in Old Town to make sure that people are not violating the spirit of the pilot program."

FOOD TRUCKS are a growing trend across the nation, and until recently Alexandria had the most restrictive rules in the region for mobile vendors. Last year, city officials tried to bring a proposal to City Council members but restaurant owners balked, and City Manager Rashad Young formed a work group of stakeholders to examine the issue and offer recommendations. Members of that group now say they've been snubbed because City Council approved a pilot program in May even though the group did not issue a report. Some of that division lingers as city officials try to figure out how to deal with violators.

"If the police see the violation, I don't understand why they wouldn't write the citation right there on the spot," said Yvonne Weight Callahan, one of the leaders of the work group. "They're there. They saw it. Write the damn ticket."

City officials say that's not how the code works. The way the ordinance works, the first violation is a $100 and the second violation is $250. The new code section is not in the zoning ordinance, a fact that led to some sharp words from planning commissioners who also felt they were snubbed because they were not given an opportunity to vote on the issue. Nevertheless, City Manager Rashad Young has now designated the Department of Planning and Zoning to issue citations.

"I think it actually worked pretty smoothly," said Joanna Anderson, assistant city attorney. "The citizen who saw the truck called the police, which was the right thing to do because it was a weekend, and we don't have inspectors out there on the weekend."

SO FAR, only four vendors have received permits to participate in the pilot program: D.C. Slices, Doug the Food Dude, Red Hook Lobster Pound and Rockland's BBQ & Grilling Co. One reason for the slow start may be the amount of money and paperwork required. Vendors must first receive a $125 food truck vendor permit that would last through the end of this year. Then there would be a $90 annual fee plus the one-time fee of $200 from the Alexandria Health Department. That's in addition to the $250 annual business license fee plus the $143 fee to operate a propane tank for six months. After all of those fees have been paid, vendors would need to find a city park or recreation center with at least 10 parking spaces.

"We've provided very little opportunity for them to vend," said Councilman Justin Wilson. "For most of them, it's just not enough of an incentive for them to be out there."