Alameda, CA Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Sidewalk & Mobile Vending (2026)

Article XX of the Alameda Municipal Code (Sections 6-63.1 through 6-63.16, adopted by Ordinance No. 3391 in October 2025) requires a valid sidewalk vending permit, issued by the Public Works Director, for anyone selling food or merchandise from a pushcart, stand, or similar nonmotorized conveyance, or from their person, on a public sidewalk. Section 6-63.5 requires a separate permit for each vending facility, a valid Alameda County mobile food facility permit where applicable, a City business license, and visible display of both permits on the cart.

Section 6-63.6 sets a 30-day review period for a complete application, allows the Public Works Director to deny a permit for false information, noncompliance, or ADA problems, and lets a denied applicant reapply within 30 days without a new fee; permits run one year and renew without a new fee if the vendor's business license and standing remain valid. Section 6-63.7 requires vendors to leave 48 inches of unobstructed sidewalk (24 inches for a roaming vendor mid-transaction) and to comply with the city's noise and disposable-foodware rules.

Section 6-63.9 layers on dozens of location and hours restrictions: no stationary vendor within 200 feet of another vendor unless 60 inches of sidewalk remains clear, no vending within 25 feet of a crosswalk or intersection or a fire hydrant, and none within 200 feet of a school drop-off zone; commercial-zone vending is barred from 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., and stationary vending is barred outright in the R-1 through R-6 residential zones, where roaming vendors may only sell between sunrise/8:00 a.m. and sunset/8:00 p.m.