Garland, TX Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Vending Zones (2026)
Key Facts
- Residential zone rule
- Catering trucks and mobile food units banned
- Construction-site exception
- Permitted trucks may serve active job sites
- Fixed food truck parks
- Require a Specific Use Provision (§ 2.52(A)(37))
- Late-night curfew
- 11 p.m. close within 150 ft of homes
- Restroom requirement
- Permanent hand sinks and flushable toilets on site
Summary
Garland bans parking a catering truck or mobile food unit in any residential zone under Code of Ordinances Section 32.57(C)(10)-(12), with narrow exceptions for construction-site food service and vendors serving active job sites. Outside residential zones, a dedicated mobile food truck park needs a Special Use Permit under Development Code Section 2.52(A)(37) and can only operate late at night if it sits more than 150 feet from housing.
(10) A person commits an offense if the person parks a catering truck or mobile food unit, but not including lawfully operating ice cream trucks, at any place within a residential zone. (11) The owner of a catering truck or mobile food unit commits a civil offense if the owner allows, suffers or permits the parking or standing of a catering truck or mobile food unit at any place within a residential zone. (12) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under subsection (10) and (11) of this section if, at the time of the offense: (a) The vehicle is a lawfully operated and permitted vehicle selling food at a construction site within a residential zone... Section 2.52(A)(37) Mobile Food Truck Park. A Mobile food truck park may only operate with a valid SUP. Mobile food truck parks located within 150 feet of residential-zoned property... may not operate between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., beginning Sunday evening through Friday morning.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4862189; v40 updated 2026-05-19).
Full Breakdown
57(C)(10) of the Code of Ordinances makes it an offense to park a catering truck or mobile food unit anywhere in a residential zone, a ban that does not reach a lawfully operating ice cream truck. The vehicle's owner separately commits a civil offense under subsection (11) if the owner allows that parking to happen. Subsection (12) carves out two defenses: a permitted food truck serving a construction site inside a residential zone, and a vendor's vehicle present while its operator is actively performing service work at a residence, other than the operator's own home, while workers are on site.
Outside residential zones, the Garland Development Code regulates where a fixed mobile food truck park may operate at all. 80. m. on Friday and Saturday nights, though cleanup and maintenance work is allowed at any hour. 45 of the Development Code.
Violations & Fines
Parking a catering truck or mobile food unit in a residential zone is a Code of Ordinances offense for the operator and a separate civil offense for the vehicle's owner. Operating a mobile food truck park without the required Specific Use Provision, certificate of occupancy, or within its restricted late-night hours violates the Development Code and can jeopardize the underlying SUP approval.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a food truck park in front of a house in Garland?
Does a food truck park need special zoning approval?
How late can a food truck park stay open near houses?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Garland
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