Pontiac, MI Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Vending Zones (2026)

Section 26-1035 of the Pontiac City Code sets where mobile food vendors may operate once licensed under Section 26-1034. Subsection (a) confines vendors to public areas the Planning Division has identified as authorized parking locations and bans operating on public streets altogether unless the vendor is part of an approved temporary use with street-closure approval. Subsection (b) requires the customer service window to face the curb, lawn or sidewalk rather than the driving lane, and bars preparing, selling or displaying food outside the vehicle. Subsection (h) keeps a mobile food vendor at least 150 feet from any City-licensed or sanctioned fair, festival, special event or civic event unless the vendor separately obtains a mobile food vendor annual temporary use permit under Zoning Ordinance Section 2.544.

Subsection (m) keeps mobile food vendors at least 150 feet from any residential building, unless the vendor sets up on private property zoned multifamily residential, commercial, industrial or mixed use. Subsection (g) forbids leaving a vehicle parked overnight on the street or unattended with food inside, treating an unattended vehicle as a public safety hazard subject to ticketing and impoundment. Subsection (j) requires written consent from the property owner before vending on private property, and subsection (l) requires all power to be self-contained, barring any hookup to public utilities or natural gas lines.