West Des Moines, IA Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Vending Zones (2026)

Section 3-7-4(E) closes public property to mobile food units entirely unless the vending is part of an event the city clerk's office approved through a special event permit, or the director of parks and recreation authorized it within a City park; a food truck cannot simply park on a city street or in a public lot on its own. On private property, section 3-7-4(H)(3) limits units to nonresidential parcels unless the operation is part of an approved event permit, and section 3-7-4(H)(4) adds a time restriction near housing: any unit within 300 feet of a residential use or residentially zoned property may only operate between 7:00 A.M. and 10:30 P.M.

Section 3-7-4(H)(6) caps density at one mobile food unit per property unless the property holds a multiple vendor permit, and even then, units on adjacent, unpermitted properties must keep a 50-foot separation from each other. Section 3-7-4(H)(9) bars units from vacant lots or lots with a vacant building, and section 3-7-4(H)(10) keeps a unit at least 100 feet from any permanent restaurant or food-and-beverage business unless that business gives written consent. Units also cannot sit on a public or private sidewalk, except pushcarts, which may use a private sidewalk freely or a public sidewalk only as part of an approved event, and even then must leave a 48-inch walkway clear for pedestrians.

Every operator needs the property owner's written consent to use the site, kept in the unit at all times, and the unit itself must sit on a paved surface unless an event permit says otherwise.