Lakewood, WA Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Food Truck Permits (2026)

050, a mobile food vending facility is a permitted, not merely conditional, use in the NC1, NC2, TOC, CBD, C1, C2, C3, IBP, I1, I2 and PI zones, though it is barred outright in every residential zone in the city. 050(B)(2) then sets the operating conditions vendors actually have to follow, and it treats carts and trucks differently. A cart on a public sidewalk needs a public area use permit, must leave a five-foot clear path for pedestrians, and cannot block sightlines at driveways, intersections, storefronts or display windows; carts are capped at one per 300 lineal feet of sidewalk, or one per building if placed indoors, must be small enough for a single person on foot to move, cannot exceed 25 square feet, and must be removed or covered and secured at night.

A truck parked on private property needs the written permission of the property's legal owner; one parked in the public right-of-way needs a right-of-way permit and cannot exceed eight feet in width by 30 feet in length, exclusive of any canopy. The City can add its own limits on how long or how often a truck's right-of-way permit runs. Neither carts nor trucks may sit in required parking spaces or landscaped areas, and a truck cannot set up within 100 feet of an existing eating establishment unless that restaurant's owner gives written permission.

Every vendor, cart or truck, must comply with applicable state and county health regulations and post proof of that compliance along with a current City of Lakewood business license on the unit. Vendor stands built into an existing building, as opposed to mobile carts or trucks, are instead treated as permanent structures capped at 1,000 square feet and must meet full International Building Code requirements.