Monterey Park, CA Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Food Truck Permits (2026)

Section 21.28.025 sits inside Monterey Park's temporary use permit chapter and governs off-street food truck venues specifically, on top of the mobile food facility health rules in Chapter 6.05. Its stated purpose is compatibility: keeping venues from creating noise, parking, or litter impacts on the properties around them. The size rules are numeric. A venue needs a parcel of at least 15,000 square feet, and the site cannot host more than one food truck for every 2,000 square feet of parcel area, so a 15,000-square-foot lot tops out at seven trucks.

Operating days are capped at three per week, and no activity, including setup and cleanup, may run before 8:00 a.m. or after 11:00 p.m.; the City Planner sets the specific days and hours for each venue case by case, with Planning Commission review available on appeal. Seating is capped at 200 square feet and must be cleared out at the close of business each operating day. Parking requires two off-street spaces per truck plus a minimum of 10 bicycle spaces, and barricades approved by the City Planner and Police Chief must keep vehicles out of the vending and seating area.

A refuse and recycling plan needs Public Works Director approval, and all solid waste generated by the operation must be collected within a 300-foot radius of the site before the venue closes for the day. Amplified music and loudspeakers are prohibited outright, and every truck needs its own health permit from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health under subsection (J). No structure requiring a building permit is allowed on-site, and a venue's overall permit term cannot exceed three years unless the City Council extends it by resolution.