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

Section 78-215's seven numbered operating requirements govern where and how a mobile food vending unit may set up once licensed under section 78-211. The unit must sit on a paved or gravel surface (or another surface the building department approves) and must not obstruct vehicular, pedestrian, or non-motorized travel, sit in a fire lane, or block sightlines for traffic. It must also comply with all applicable noise and parking regulations. Customer queuing areas cannot sit in a street, road, or road right-of-way, and in a parking lot must stay a safe distance from travel lanes; the same restriction applies to seating areas, which additionally cannot be placed within ten feet of the unit itself.

Vendors must provide adequate waste receptacles and are barred from dumping grey water, grease, or any other fluid on the ground, in the street, or into a storm sewer. The section's most location-specific rule bars operating within 200 feet of an existing restaurant offering similar fare during that restaurant's open hours, protecting nearby brick-and-mortar competitors. Section 78-216 exempts short-term vending from needing a separate chapter 79 special event permit if it runs four hours or less at one location within 24 hours with at least a 30-day gap before returning, if it is part of a residential neighborhood event, on private property for a private event, or at a city-sponsored event on municipal property.