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

Section 10.26.060 sets the operating rules for where and how a vending vehicle may sell. Subsection A requires the vehicle to come to a complete stop and be lawfully parked adjacent to the curb, consistent with Vehicle Code Section 22500, before initiating any sale, preventing vendors from selling to pedestrians who approach a moving or double-parked truck. Subsection B, applying to every mobile food merchant except ice cream truck operators, requires garbage receptacles available for customers, requires the vendor to pick up and dispose of all litter and maintain a clean, debris-free condition within a 25-foot radius of the vending location, and requires the vendor to obtain the private property owner's authorization before vending there.

Subsection C bars any mobile food merchant from operating in a public park without a special event permit or other written City authorization, closing off Santee Lakes-area parks and other City parks to routine truck vending. Section 10.26.070 adds a school-protection rule: selling or offering food or beverages to any minor attending a public or private school within 1,000 feet of the school's boundary is unlawful between 7:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on a school day, unless the vendor holds written consent from the school principal or other authorized official confirming the vending will not create a traffic or safety hazard, and that written authorization must be kept with the vendor for inspection at all times.