Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors in Kennewick, WA

If you live in Kennewick or are thinking about moving there, food trucks & mobile vendors are one of those things you probably won't think about until they affect you directly. Kennewick has 3 specific rules on the books covering different aspects of food trucks & mobile vendors, and some of them might surprise you.

Sidewalk & Mobile Vending

Selling food or goods on Kennewick sidewalks as a peddler, without a fixed storefront, requires a City-issued Class II peddler's license under KMC 6.23.020 before any sale, delivery, or order-taking begins, per the license mandate in KMC 6.23.040. The license covers anyone "traveling from place to place" offering goods, including foot and cart vendors working the sidewalk rather than a fixed lot.

Key details: License class: Class II license, KMC 6.23.020. Who needs it: Peddlers, solicitors, itinerant vendors selling place to place. Application info: Address, supplier, goods type; KMC 6.23.060. Fee: Set by City's Master Fee Schedule. Penalty range: $25 to $500 civil penalty, KMC 6.23.080.

Selling on a Kennewick sidewalk without the Class II peddler's license is enforced under KMC 6.23.080: the License Officer, or the Hearing Examiner on review, can suspend or revoke the license for any fraudulent, illegal, or deceptive practice, and may assess a civil penalty of not less than $25.00 nor more than $500.00, plus order restitution to anyone injured by the violation.

Food Truck Permits

Operating a food truck in Kennewick requires a City business license under KMC 18.12.250(1)(a), plus health district sign-off, insurance, and a site plan before the vehicle can set up on private property or a parking lot. Vehicle-based food businesses also owe a restroom agreement and a discharge plan for used oils and graywater under KMC 18.12.250(5)(f), on top of every general Temporary and Parking Lot Business requirement in subsection (1).

Key details: License needed: City of Kennewick business license, KMC 18.12.250(1)(a). Health approval: Benton-Franklin County Health District if food served. City property use: Lease + $1,000,000 insurance naming City as insured. Vehicle add-ons: Site plan, restroom agreement, discharge plan required. Standing limit: 1 hour per location on public ways.

Operating a food truck without the required business license, health district approval, or site plan is enforced as a business-license and zoning violation under Title 18; KMC 18.12.250(5)(p) states that any violation of the vehicle-based food business conditions "would result in the revocation of the business license," on top of the general Title 18 misdemeanor penalty at KMC 18.54.090 for operating outside the approved conditions.

Vending Zones

Kennewick limits vehicle-based food trucks to 13 named commercial and industrial zoning districts under KMC 18.12.250(5)(a): CO, CBD, CC, CAR, CG, CM, CR, UMU, BP, IL, IH, OS, and PF. Cart businesses get one more under KMC 18.12.250(6)(b), adding the CN neighborhood commercial district to that same list. Neither use is allowed in a residential (R) zoning district.

Key details: Food truck zones: CO, CBD, CC, CAR, CG, CM, CR, UMU, BP, IL, IH, OS, PF. Cart-only extra zone: CN, Commercial Neighborhood, added for carts. Residential zones: Not permitted in any R district. Food truck standing time: 1 hour per public-way location. Cart standing time: 8 hours per public-way location.

Setting up a food truck or cart in a zoning district outside the KMC 18.12.250(5)(a) or (6)(b) lists, including any residential zone, is a Title 18 zoning violation. Vehicle-based food businesses face immediate business license revocation for violating the section's conditions under KMC 18.12.250(5)(p), and any Title 18 violation is separately punishable as a misdemeanor under KMC 18.54.090.

The Bottom Line

Kennewick's food trucks & mobile vendors rules are a mixed bag. Some areas are strict, others are relaxed, and the details matter. The best approach is to check the specific rule that applies to your situation rather than assuming Kennewick is broadly strict or permissive.

These rules come from Kennewick's publicly available municipal code. For complete penalty schedules, exemption details, and answers to common questions, see the individual ordinance pages throughout this guide.