Lawrence, MA Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Vending Zones (2026)
Key Facts
- Buffer distance
- 150 ft from dwellings/food establishments
- Also off-limits
- No-parking, loading, bus-stop, taxi-stand zones
- Exempt streets
- Parts of Broadway, Common, Lawrence St
- City authority
- May add zones by regulation
- Max fine
- $300/day for violations
Summary
Lawrence bars mobile food vendors from setting up within 150 feet of a dwelling or an operating stationary food establishment, and from handicapped spaces, loading zones, bus stops, taxi stands and other no-parking areas, except on three named downtown streets carved out by ordinance.
No mobile food vendor shall operate within 150 feet of a dwelling or stationary food service establishment then in operation, or within a handicapped parking space, loading zone, bus stop, taxi stand, service zone, or any other area where parking is prohibited, excluding Broadway Street from Haverhill Street to Common Street, Common Street from Lawrence Street to Jackson Street, and Lawrence Street from Common Street to Haverhill Street. The city may from time to time promulgate regulations to further restrict zones of operation and/or to establish allowed zones of operation.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 8).
Full Breakdown
090 of the city's mobile food vendor chapter sets the restricted zones of operation. No mobile food vendor may operate within 150 feet of a dwelling or of a stationary food service establishment then in business, nor within a handicapped parking space, loading zone, bus stop, taxi stand, service zone, or any other space where parking is otherwise prohibited. The ordinance carves out three exceptions for downtown commercial corridors: Broadway Street from Haverhill Street to Common Street, Common Street from Lawrence Street to Jackson Street, and Lawrence Street from Common Street to Haverhill Street, where the 150-foot buffer does not apply.
050, can tighten or loosen siting rules by regulation rather than ordinance amendment. Because the buffer is measured from any dwelling as well as any competing food establishment, a truck can be excluded from a block even where no other traffic-control restriction applies. 100(D), so the zone restrictions apply for the full term of every stop.
Violations & Fines
A vendor caught operating inside the 150-foot buffer, in a marked no-parking or loading zone, or outside a city-designated allowed zone faces the same enforcement track as any other Chapter 5.53 violation: a fine of up to $300.00 per day under 5.53.120, with each day a separate offense, and the inspectional services director or fire chief may suspend or revoke the license for cause after notice and hearing.
Frequently Asked Questions
How close can a food truck park to a restaurant in Lawrence?
Are there streets in Lawrence where the 150-foot rule doesn't apply?
Can the city add more restricted zones later?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Lawrence
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