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

In the City of Olympia, mobile vending runs through the temporary use permit in the Unified Development Code. The intent clause in OMC § 18.06.060(Z)(1) says no temporary use is allowed unless the City approves a permit, that each separately proposed activity or use needs its own permit, and that the applicant pays the fee required by OMC 4.40.010(A). Subsection (Z)(3) lists mobile vendors among the temporary uses permitted in commercial districts and the Evergreen Park PUD. The code defines a mobile vendor as a vendor that sells food, goods or services from a non-permanent location, is unrelated to the primary use of the property, and is readily movable at all times. Accessory uses, uses under a Festival and Event permit, busking, and ice cream or home delivery trucks that operate in constant motion within the street fall outside that definition.

Mobile vendors get a longer permit term than the standard temporary use. The default in (Z)(2)(e) is ninety consecutive days per calendar year, and (Z)(2)(f) caps a site at two permits per calendar year, but both apply only unless otherwise stated. Subsection (Z)(3)(c)(i) states that a mobile vendor permit is valid for one year from the date of issuance. A permit not exercised within thirty days of issuance is null and void. The vendor must have approval from the property owner, or from the underlying property owner when the vendor is located in a right-of-way. The City's approval authority can add conditions to ensure compliance with the chapter, protect neighboring properties and the community, and meet the Building Code.

Hours of operation, including generators and lot lighting other than shielded security lighting, are limited to 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. unless the Planning Director or the Director's designee specifies otherwise in writing. Within three days after the permit ends, the use and all structures, signs and evidence of it must be removed. The Director can require a financial surety to cover cleanup and repair, and the property owner is responsible for abatement and its cost if the permittee fails to act. The permit does not replace any other agency's permit: subsection (Z)(2)(g) requires the applicant to obtain every applicable permit from all other agencies having jurisdiction.