Florence County, SC Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Vending Zones (2026)
Key Facts
- Where allowed
- Only as part of a flea market in MU or CMU districts
- Food truck rule
- Must integrate into vending area, stay clear of traffic
- Approval needed
- Board of zoning appeals special exception, § 30-80.4(i)(10)
- Flea market use status
- Conditional (C); not permitted in TH, MR, MMF, FO/LI
- Parking standard
- 1 space per 1,000 s.f. of flea market GFA
Summary
Unincorporated Florence County does not zone mobile food vending as its own category; food trucks are addressed only as an accessory to flea markets, a conditional use permitted solely in the MU and CMU zoning districts. County Code § 30-80.4(i)(3) requires food truck areas to integrate into the flea market's outdoor vending space and stay clear of traffic.
TH MR MMF MU CMU FO/LI ... Flea markets (Sec. 30-80.4(i)) 459510 N N N C C N 1.0 per 1,000 s.f. GFA ... (i)Flea markets.(1)Flea markets must be designed to visually integrate buildings and outdoor spaces.(2)Indoor and outdoor sales are permitted; however, outdoor vending must be clearly delineated and separated from parking areas.(3)Areas for food trucks must be visually and functionally integrated into outdoor vending areas and shall not be located or operated in a manner that interferes with the safe movement of motorized and non-motorized vehicles and pedestrians. ... (10)In addition to meeting all of the above requirements, flea markets must be granted a special exception by the board of zoning appeals prior to a certificate of zoning compliance being issued.
Full Breakdown
Florence County's Chapter 30 zoning ordinance has no stand-alone food-truck or mobile-vending ordinance; the only place the code specifically addresses food trucks is within its flea market conditional-use standards. Table XI lists flea markets (NAICS 459510) as a 'C,' conditional use, permitted only in the MU (Mixed-Use) and CMU (Commercial Mixed-Use) zoning districts, and not permitted (N) in the TH, MR, MMF, or FO/LI districts, at a parking ratio of one space per 1,000 square feet of gross floor area. 4(i) lays out ten conditions a flea market must satisfy before the county will issue a certificate of zoning compliance, and subsection (3) speaks directly to mobile food vendors: areas set aside for food trucks must be visually and functionally integrated into the flea market's outdoor vending areas, and they cannot be located or operated in a way that interferes with the safe movement of motorized or non-motorized vehicles and pedestrians.
4(i)(9)). None of this authorizes a food truck operating outside a flea market context; the ordinance does not permit freestanding, roadside, or event-based food truck vending anywhere in Chapter 30's text as reviewed here. 4(i)(10) requires the county board of zoning appeals to grant a special exception.
Violations & Fines
A flea market or food-truck vending area sited outside the MU or CMU zoning districts, or one that opens without the board of zoning appeals' special exception required by § 30-80.4(i)(10), fails the county's conditional-use approval process; the certificate of zoning compliance the operation needs is not issued until the special exception and the design conditions of § 30-80.4(i) are met.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I park a food truck anywhere in unincorporated Florence County?
What design rule applies to a food truck area within a flea market?
Does a flea market with food trucks need special approval to open?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Florence County
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