Fort Myers, FL Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Vending Zones (2026)

Florida HB 1193 (2020), codified at Florida Statute § 509.102, limits Fort Myers' ability to restrict food-truck locations. The statute provides that '[a] municipality... may not prohibit mobile food dispensing vehicles or temporary commercial kitchens from operating within the entirety of the entity's jurisdiction.' Under the Florida Attorney General's and case-law interpretation of this preemption, the city cannot enact: (1) a citywide ban; (2) bans that effectively exclude food trucks from entire zoning districts where comparable food businesses are allowed; (3) proximity buffers from brick-and-mortar restaurants (e.g., '500 feet from any restaurant'); (4) duration caps targeted specifically at food trucks; or (5) operating-hours restrictions targeted specifically at food trucks. What Fort Myers can do under generally applicable land-use authority: (1) require a Right-of-Way Use Permit before parking on a city street, sidewalk, or in the public right-of-way; (2) restrict operations in city parks to authorized concessionaires or special-event permittees through the Parks Department; (3) require landowner permission to operate on private property; (4) enforce fire-code separation, propane safety, and grease-disposal rules through the Fort Myers Fire Department; (5) enforce parking rules (must obey time limits, no fire-lane parking, no blocking ADA access); (6) require a Local Business Tax Receipt; (7) require event permits for River District events, festivals, and city-sponsored gatherings (handled by River District Alliance for River District events). City parks generally are not open to mobile vending unless authorized; special-event vending at city events typically goes through the event organizer and the Parks Department. Violations of generally applicable rules (fire code, ROW, parking) are enforced through Code Enforcement (239-321-7940) and the Special Magistrate under FS 162.09 with fines up to $250/day for first violation and $500/day for repeats.