El Dorado County, CA Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Vending Zones (2026)

Under El Dorado County Code Section 130.40.220(C), mobile food vendors fall under the county's Temporary Outdoor Retail Sales rules alongside farmers' markets, swap meets, and sidewalk sales. Before setting up on private commercial or industrial property in the unincorporated county, a vendor needs an Administrative Permit issued under Section 130.52.010, reviewed by the Planning and Building Department for compliance with this section's standards rather than a full discretionary hearing.

The location standard bars a vendor from blocking an emergency access route or disrupting vehicular or pedestrian circulation on the shopping center or public street where the truck sets up. Hours of operation are limited to daylight only: every sales facility, sign, and related vehicle must clear the site by the close of daily business, and night operations require a separate Temporary Use Permit under Section 130.52.060. Parking has to conform to the county's off-street parking schedule in Table 130.35.030.1, and if parking is shared with an adjacent property owner, that arrangement must be notarized and filed with the permit application.

Duration is capped at three consecutive days at the same location, and a vendor cannot run more than three such events in a calendar year beginning January 1, unless a Temporary Use Permit is approved after a finding that the site has adequate parking and restroom capacity and the area can absorb the added traffic. Signage tied to the vending event is limited under Chapter 130.36 and can only go up one day before the event, coming down at the close of business on the last day.