Commission studies new rules for mobile food vendors on private property; merchants cite fairness and hygiene concerns

Planning staff presented the city’s recently adopted zoning provisions for mobile food vendors on private property during a study session on April 16. The rules — adopted as part of the updated zoning code — allow mobile food vendors to operate on commercial, mixed‑use, office and industrial sites subject to operational standards and a three‑tiered permitting approach: no permit if operating less than two hours at a private site; an administrative zoning clearance (over‑the‑counter) if operating more than two but less than four hours (fee: $590); and a minor use permit if operating more than four hours on a single site or operating within 100 feet of residential property (fee: $6,288).

Key operational standards presented by staff include: fixed, approved locations on private property; hours limits (if within 100 feet of residential the operating window is limited to 7 a.m.–10 p.m.), a maintenance requirement to keep the area free of garbage and debris, a maximum of 500 square feet for outdoor seating and up to 24 seats, no amplified sound, and the requirement that temporary canopies be removed nightly. Food vendors must hold required county public‑health approvals. Staff said the city had performed outreach to vendors on El Camino Real and that two vendors had already pursued permits under the new rules.

Commissioners and members of the public raised a range of concerns. Merchant representatives and several commissioners said the rules might disadvantage brick‑and‑mortar restaurants by enabling low‑overhead competitors to occupy private parking lots and draw customers without incurring the same rent, permitting, insurance and labor costs. Commissioners also flagged enforceability problems: they asked how staff would prove a vendor had been on one private lot for more than two hours (versus closing and restarting) and how the city would address customers parking in residential neighborhoods adjacent to a vendor site. Several commissioners and a member of the public pressed staff about sanitary facilities and handwashing — staff said vendors must meet public‑health requirements for on‑truck handwashing facilities but the ordinance does not require portable toilets for short operations on private property.

Staff noted that mobile vendors operating in the public right‑of‑way are subject to an entirely separate permitting process administered by the police department, and that the zoning provisions presented on April 16 apply only to private property. The session produced no formal action; commission members asked staff to monitor enforcement complaints and return with any recommended clarifying language if evidence showed problems with current standards.