Pocatello, ID Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Sidewalk & Mobile Vending (2026)
Key Facts
- Minimum sidewalk clearance
- 5 feet of pedestrian passage
- Driveway buffer
- 10 feet from either side of a crossing driveway
- Also barred from
- street corners, crosswalks, turf without permission
- Trash container
- required at every food/beverage concession unit
- Operating hours
- posted park hours unless Director approves otherwise
- Max penalty
- $1,000 fine or 6 months jail (§ 1.04.040)
Summary
Mobile food carts, trailers and concession vehicles selling in the City of Pocatello's parks and public places cannot block sidewalks. Section 5.06.060(I) bars mobile concessions from any stretch of public sidewalk with less than five feet of clear pedestrian passage, from street corners and crosswalk areas, and from within ten feet of a driveway, or anywhere the setup would obstruct traffic visibility.
Mobile concessions, whether stands, carts, trailers, vehicles or otherwise, shall not be located in areas where clear pedestrian passage on a public sidewalk is less than five feet (5') wide, within any street corner area or area in which there is a crosswalk, on any portion of a sidewalk crossed by a public or private driveway or within ten feet (10') of either side of said driveway, or in any area which would obstruct the movement or visibility of vehicles using the street or public right-of- way.
Full Breakdown
Pocatello's Chapter 5.06 conditions of licensure at § 5.06.060 govern where a licensed mobile concession, defined as a stand, cart, trailer or motorized vehicle from which food, beverages or merchandise is sold, may physically sit once a vendor has a license. Subsection I is the sidewalk rule: a mobile concession cannot occupy any part of a public sidewalk where clear pedestrian passage would drop below five feet, cannot sit at a street corner or in a marked crosswalk area, cannot block a sidewalk where it crosses a public or private driveway, and must stay at least ten feet clear of either side of that driveway.
The same subsection also bars placement anywhere it would obstruct the movement or visibility of vehicles on the street or right of way. Other conditions in § 5.06.060 apply alongside the sidewalk rule: vendors must carry required workers' compensation and meet Southeast Idaho Public Health approval for food sales under subsection B, keep an accessible trash container at the unit under subsection D, stay off park turf without written permission under subsection F, and operate only during posted park hours unless the Parks and Recreation Director approves otherwise under subsection G. A restaurant vending outside its own establishment still needs a temporary concession permit and must file Idaho's ST-124 sales tax declaration under subsection J.
Violations & Fines
Setting up a mobile concession that narrows a sidewalk below five feet, blocks a driveway crossing or crosswalk, or obstructs traffic visibility violates § 5.06.060 and can support denial or revocation of the vendor's license under § 5.06.050. Because Chapter 5.06 has no standalone fine, an unlicensed or noncompliant vendor is also exposed to the City's general penalty clause, § 1.04.040: up to a $1,000.00 fine or six months in jail.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much sidewalk space must a food cart leave open in Pocatello?
Can a food truck park near a driveway?
Can vendors set up on park grass?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Pocatello
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