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

Municipal Code Section 5.68.050 sets the operating rules once a sidewalk vendor permit issues under Section 5.68.040. Vendors must maintain at least four feet of clearance on any sidewalk or pedestrian path for the Americans with Disabilities Act, and stationary vendors handling food must comply with Section 6.08.035 for solid waste. Vendors cannot leave carts unattended or chained to poles, signs, or trees, on pain of confiscation, and cannot place merchandise directly on the right-of-way without authorization. Junk food, defined in Section 5.68.020 as food or drink low in nutrients and high in calories, sodium, sugar or fat, cannot be sold within three hundred feet of any school between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.

Vendors cannot operate within five hundred feet of a certified farmers market, swap meet, or a council-approved special event during its limited duration, and stationary vendors cannot operate in any residential zone or within Garvey Ranch Park, La Loma Park, or any city park under an exclusive concession agreement. A stationary vendor selling food must operate within two hundred feet of an approved toilet and handwashing facility if stopped more than one hour, per Health and Safety Code Section 114315, with proof of permission if relying on a private restroom.

Subsection (n) adds fixed setbacks: fifteen feet from an intersection, ten feet from a driveway, five feet from an alleyway or fire hydrant, outside marked bus zones, eighteen inches from the curb edge, a six-foot pedestrian clear path, and twenty-five feet from any building entrance or exit.