Gwinnett County, GA Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Vending Zones (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- UDO § 265-50.2(A)(1)-(3)
- Allowed zoning
- Office, commercial, mixed-use with principal building
- Restaurant buffer
- 100 feet from competing entrance
- Right-of-way buffer
- 50 feet unless invited or permitted
- Parking rule
- Cannot occupy required off-street parking spaces
Summary
Standalone mobile food units in unincorporated Gwinnett County may only set up on office, commercial, or mixed-use zoned property that already has a principal building, and must stay at least 100 feet from any restaurant's main entrance and 50 feet from the public right-of-way, under UDO Section 265-50.2(A)(1)-(3).
265-50.1 Exemptions from Temporary Outdoor Activity Permit Requirements. A. Mobile food service units may operate with the written approval of the property owner in the following zoning districts and locations without issuance of a temporary outdoor activity permit: 1. Gwinnett Entertainment District: the buildings and property currently known as the Infinite Energy Center...2. Any commercial development having at least 750,000 square feet of commercial space. 3. Property zoned MU-R Regional Mixed Use District. B. Mobile food service units shall be permitted in association with a Temporary Outdoor Event or Holiday Activity without a separate permit, regardless of location. 265-50.2.A.1. Shall be limited to properties zoned for office, commercial, and mixed-use development and shall only be located on a lot containing a principal building. 2. Shall be located at least 100 feet from the main entrance of any eating or drinking establishment. 3. No mobile food service unit shall conduct business or operate within 50 feet of the public right-of-way unless otherwise invited or permitted.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 9).
Full Breakdown
2(A) sets three location restrictions that decide where a standalone mobile food service unit can legally park in unincorporated Gwinnett County. Item 1 limits the truck to property zoned for office, commercial, or mixed-use development, and further requires the lot to already contain a principal building, so a food truck cannot set up alone on a vacant or undeveloped parcel. Item 2 requires the truck to stay at least 100 feet from the main entrance of any eating or drinking establishment, a buffer meant to keep food trucks from parking directly outside a competing restaurant's front door.
Item 3 bars the truck from conducting business or operating within 50 feet of the public right-of-way unless it has been otherwise invited or permitted, keeping trucks off the shoulders of county roads and out of the sight lines drivers need at intersections and driveways. Item 6 adds a circulation-based restriction: the truck cannot disrupt controlled vehicular ingress and egress on the site and cannot occupy required off-street parking spaces, so operators typically have to use surplus parking rather than striped spaces a landlord needs for other tenants.
1: a truck at the Gwinnett Entertainment District, a commercial development of at least 750,000 square feet, or land zoned MU-R Regional Mixed Use does not need the standalone permit that carries these location conditions, and a truck operating alongside a permitted Temporary Outdoor Event or Holiday Activity is governed by that event's site plan instead.
Violations & Fines
Setting up a standalone food truck on residential-zoned or vacant property, within 100 feet of a competing restaurant's entrance, within 50 feet of the right-of-way, or in required parking spaces violates UDO Section 265-50.2 and is enforced under Section 120-70, with a Recorders Court fine of $250 to $1,000, up to 60 days in jail, or both, and each day of operation counted as a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a Gwinnett County food truck park on a vacant lot?
How close can a Gwinnett County food truck park to a restaurant?
Can a Gwinnett County food truck park on the road shoulder?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Gwinnett County
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