Bradenton, FL Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Sidewalk & Mobile Vending (2026)

Land Use Regulations § 4.3.12 is the street vending rule for the City of Bradenton, Manatee County, and it starts from a ban. Street vending is prohibited on public lands or property, which covers public sidewalks, unless city council authorizes it as part of a special event or revitalization initiative. The exception runs through the council, not through a staff permit.

On private, commercial property the code allows a narrow accessory use. One vending cart is permitted, it must be located within 20 feet of the primary building, and it must have been issued a city use permit. The cart is an accessory use to the business on the lot, so a stand set up on a vacant commercial parcel with no primary building does not fit the wording.

The section closes with a flat limit: in no case shall outside vending be allowed except for garage sales on private, residentially used property in accordance with schedule 5.1.1. That schedule allows only two yard sales per calendar year per residence, lasting not more than three days each.

Two other provisions sit outside § 4.3.12. Sec. 62-57 adopts Manatee County's rules for vending on public roads and for ice cream trucks, and requires an ice cream truck operator to hold a permit from the Manatee County Administrator or designee. Sec. 42-55 requires mobile and temporary cooking operations to be inspected before operating at each event or location in the city and to be licensed by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation or the Florida Department of Agriculture. Those two sections are covered on the mobile vending zones page for the City of Bradenton.

Section 4.3.12 prints no fee and no application form of its own, so the use permit is obtained through the Planning and Community Development process described in the Land Use Regulations.