Riverside, CA Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Vending Zones (2026)

RMC Chapter 5.36 (Regulation of Mobile Food Vendors) sets zone-based restrictions. Sales from a vending vehicle parked on a public street are permitted only from the portion of the vehicle that faces the sidewalk (or, on a one-way street, the side opposite moving traffic); no sales may be made to persons standing in the portion of the roadway open to other vehicles. No mobile food merchant may place any sign, chair, table, umbrella or other object in the public right-of-way that would obstruct pedestrian or vehicle traffic. In residential-only zones, mobile food merchants may operate only from sunrise to sunset; in commercial, industrial, mixed-use, and other zones, hours extend to midnight. When operating on private property, written permission of the property owner is required, the vehicle must have at least two off-street parking spaces, and overnight parking of the vending vehicle on the private property is prohibited. Vending in city parks requires a separate Facility Reservation permit under RMC § 9.08.120 — a mobile vendor permit alone is not sufficient to operate at a park. Sales near schools and within fire lanes are further constrained by California Vehicle Code § 22500 and Health & Safety Code § 114315 (school-area mobile vendor safety provisions).