Madera County, CA Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Sidewalk & Mobile Vending (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- § 5.24.030(A)
- Sidewalk/ROW vending
- Prohibited outright
- Setback from roadway
- 35 feet minimum
- Scope
- Unincorporated Madera County only
Summary
Mobile food and other itinerant vendors are flatly barred from operating on sidewalks, streets, and other public rights-of-way anywhere in unincorporated Madera County.
No itinerant vendor shall operate within or upon, and shall not sell, solicit, or barter, transact or solicit business within or upon, any right-of-way, public street, road, sidewalk, highway or public property. An itinerant vendor must be located at least thirty-five feet back from the paved edge of any roadway...
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 52).
Full Breakdown
Madera County Code § 5.24.030(A) bars any 'itinerant vendor', a category that by definition includes mobile food sellers, from operating, selling, soliciting, or transacting business 'within or upon any right-of-way, public street, road, sidewalk, highway or public property.' Vendors must stay at least thirty-five feet back from the paved edge of any roadway, measured inward from the road's edge, and corner-lot vendors can't sit inside the sight-distance triangle at an intersection. Vending is confined instead to private property in the right zoning district under § 5.24.020(E). This ban covers unincorporated Madera County only, not the cities of Madera or Chowchilla.
Violations & Fines
Vending from a sidewalk, street, or other public right-of-way in unincorporated Madera County violates § 5.24.030(A); officers designated under § 1.12.040 can confiscate and destroy food or merchandise sold in violation under § 5.24.060.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a food truck park on a sidewalk in unincorporated Madera County?
What happens to food sold in violation of the sidewalk vending ban?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Madera County
California rules heatmap·Compare Madera County to another location·View the California food trucks & mobile vendors overview
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