St. Tammany Parish, LA Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Sidewalk & Mobile Vending (2026)
Key Facts
- Location rule
- Must sit entirely on private property
- Right-of-way rule
- No sidewalks, curbs, or public ROW
- Intersection buffer
- 20 feet from intersections/traffic signals
- Driveway buffer
- 3 feet from driveways or ramps
- Max time on site
- 12 hours per site
- Permit
- Annual permit, renewed yearly
- General penalty
- $300 fine plus court costs, Sec. 1-9
Summary
St. Tammany Parish's mobile food truck standard, UDC Sec. 400-8.BB, keeps every food truck, ice cream truck, and snowball stand off the sidewalk and public right-of-way. Sec. 400-8.BB.6 requires the vehicle or stand to sit entirely on private property, away from setbacks, sight triangles, buffers, and any part of the public right-of-way, including the sidewalk itself.
BB.Mobile Food Trucks.1.Applicability. This section applies to mobile food trucks. Uses this applies to include, but are not limited to mobile food trucks, ice cream trucks, and snowball trucks. ... 6.The mobile food truck or temporary food or retail stand must be located entirely on private property and shall not be located in any required setback, sight distance triangle, buffer, or public right-of-way.7.Trucks may not operate:a.Within 20 feet of any intersection, stop sign, flashing beacon, yield sign, or other traffic control signal located on the side of a roadway;b.Within 3 feet of any public or private driveway, wheelchair ramp, or bicycle ramp;c.In any manner that impedes an exit or entrance of an operating building;d.In any manner that impedes traffic flow on a public street, private drive, or parking aisles.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 12 Update 2).
Full Breakdown
Sec. 400-8.BB applies to mobile food trucks and to functionally similar vendors, naming ice cream trucks and snowball trucks specifically. Paragraph 6 draws the location line for sidewalk vending: the truck or temporary food or retail stand "must be located entirely on private property and shall not be located in any required setback, sight distance triangle, buffer, or public right-of-way." Because sidewalks sit within the public right-of-way, that single sentence rules out selling from the curb, a road shoulder, or any parish sidewalk; a vendor has to line up a private lot instead.
Paragraph 7 adds distance rules that matter even on private property near the street: trucks cannot operate within 20 feet of an intersection, stop sign, flashing beacon, yield sign, or other traffic control device, within 3 feet of a driveway or wheelchair or bicycle ramp, or in any way that blocks a building's exit or entrance or impedes traffic on a street, private drive, or parking aisle. Beyond placement, a vendor must keep a copy of the property owner's lease or written permission on site, hold an annual permit that is renewed every year, stay on any one site no more than 12 hours, keep a trash receptacle within 3 feet of the truck, maintain a 50-foot clear radius during and after operation, skip alcohol sales entirely, and limit signage to one sign of 16 square feet or less per side, never placed in the right-of-way or a sight triangle.
Violations & Fines
Operating a mobile food truck or stand on a sidewalk, curb lane, or other public right-of-way violates Sec. 400-8.BB.6 and is treated as a general UDC violation. Because Chapter 400 does not set its own fine schedule for this use, the parish falls back on the Sec. 1-9 general penalty: a misdemeanor punishable by a $300.00 fine plus 22nd Judicial District Court costs, with each day of continued operation counted as a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a food truck park on a sidewalk in St. Tammany Parish?
How close to an intersection can a food truck operate?
How long can a food truck stay parked at one location?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in St. Tammany Parish
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