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

26 governs anyone selling food or goods from a pushcart, vehicle, or stand in Sunnyvale's public right-of-way or on private property. 060 requires a pushcart vendor to obtain a miscellaneous plan permit from the director of community development before setting up on a sidewalk; the application must list the names and addresses of everyone who will operate at the site, a fully dimensioned site plan showing the cart's footprint, sidewalk width, adjacent streets, driveways and landscaping, and a certificate of commercial general liability insurance naming the city as additional insured.

The director may approve the permit with conditions upon finding no undue pedestrian, traffic, litter, or parking impact, and the permit fixes the vendor to one specific location; roving is prohibited. A permit lasts one year from issuance and can be revoked under Title 19's zoning procedures. 060(a)(3), and vendors must keep at least a four-foot pedestrian clearance on the sidewalk and manage customer queuing so foot traffic isn't blocked. 040, every vendor, cart-based or otherwise, must also display a valid Sunnyvale business license and, for food, a Santa Clara County Department of Environmental Health permit.

040(c) sets citywide siting rules that apply to carts too: vending is barred within 15 feet of a driveway or fire hydrant, 25 feet of a fire lane, 50 feet of a crosswalk or intersection, and 100 feet of a bus stop sign, on residential property, in any park, and it is prohibited outright on Block 2 of the Downtown Specific Plan District, the city's restaurant and entertainment core.