Evanston, IL Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Vending Zones (2026)

Before a mobile food vehicle can operate, Section 8-23-3(A) sends every license application to the Director of the Public Works Agency, who must find the proposed spot compatible with the public interest in use of the public right-of-way, weighing street width, parking and traffic congestion, pavement weight limits, nearby utility poles, bus shelters, benches, street trees and news racks, and whether the spot would create pedestrian or street congestion. Under Section 8-23-3(B), the Director cannot approve any site that would substantially obstruct the public way, impair pedestrian or vehicle movement, or pose a safety hazard, and must keep vendors off bus stops, taxi stands and handicap loading zones, at least 30 feet from an intersection, at least 3 feet from a curb, and away from property entryways; a 6-foot pedestrian walkway must stay clear around the truck at all times.

Section 8-23-3(C) bars parking within 100 feet of a licensed Type 1 or Type 2 restaurant's address point unless that restaurant's owner consents in writing, and no one may pay or accept payment for that consent. Only one truck is allowed per private parking lot under Section 8-23-3(D), which must still meet the lot's off-street parking requirements. Vendors must stay 500 feet from any City-licensed fair, carnival, circus, festival or civic event under Section 8-23-3(E) unless they hold a temporary event permit, and 500 feet from any school in session under Section 8-23-3(G), narrowed during summer school to only the schools actually in session. Section 8-23-3(H) adds a 100-foot buffer around the City parks listed in Sections 7-10-1 and 7-11-1. Section 8-23-3(F) closes specific Evanston Township High School-area streets, including Church Street between Pitner and Dewey and Dodge Avenue between Lyons and Dempster, whenever school is in session or a Memorial Stadium event is underway. The Director compiles all of this into an annual permitted operating areas map posted on the City's website, and within that map, spots go first come, first served under Section 8-23-3(K), with vendors responsible for paying any parking meter fees for the spaces they occupy.