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

a of the county code: mobile vendors may only operate in non-residential zones. That single sentence rules out food trucks and similar vending on residential-zoned parcels anywhere in the county, no matter how the permit standards elsewhere in the section are met. Even within an eligible non-residential zone, the code layers on siting restrictions tied to public safety and traffic. Under subsection g, a vending vehicle cannot be left unattended at any time, cannot remain parked on site when the business is inactive, and cannot be stored on the lot overnight; it has to be actively operating or gone.

Subsection h requires the vendor's location and operation, including customer lines, seating, and equipment, to avoid obstructing the right-of-way, blocking sight distances for traffic, or otherwise creating a hazard for vehicles or pedestrians, and requires compliance with applicable accessibility standards and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Subsection f allows a vendor to displace up to three of an existing non-residential use's required parking spaces for up to six hours a day, but caps that displacement at twenty-five percent of the site's total parking, so a vendor cannot take over a lot's whole parking supply even in an approved non-residential location.