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Indian River County pauses food‑truck ordinance; commissioners direct staff to remove several provisions and return April 7
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Summary
After a lengthy public hearing on proposed mobile food‑dispensing vehicle rules, commissioners asked staff to drop a 3‑acre site minimum, remove a duration/vacation requirement and relax surface restrictions, then continued the ordinance to April 7 for a final draft.
The Board of County Commissioners continued its final hearing on a draft ordinance to regulate mobile food‑dispensing vehicles (food trucks) in unincorporated Indian River County to April 7, 2026, after commissioners and staff agreed several provisions need revision.
Planning staff presented the proposed land‑development regulation amendments and recommended adoption "to institute mobile vehicle dispensing vehicles regulations within unincorporated Indian River County," noting the county’s LDRs currently prohibit food trucks except by temporary use permit or at the Gifford Farmers Market. Planner Brandon Zadeh told the board staff drafted the ordinance after the commission directed work in July 2025 and incorporated state law under section 509.102, Florida Statutes, which preempts local licensing but allows location, zoning and aesthetic regulations.
Discussion focused on three contested items: a 3‑acre minimum for using general commercial (CG) sites, a requirement that trucks vacate the site at the end of their business day (duration/dismantling), and a restriction on parking only on impervious surfaces. Several commissioners said the 3‑acre threshold and the other restrictions were overly burdensome given current food‑truck activity and enforcement realities. "We haven't had any complaints," one commissioner said, while others emphasized the need for a regulatory foundation so out‑of‑town operators cannot treat the county as "their playground."
Staff described an education period and a 90‑day enactment window to give operators time to adapt. Ryan Sweeney, assistant planning and development services director, said the county will provide internal training for planning and code enforcement staff and outreach to food‑truck operators during that period.
After attorney guidance that removing several of the proposed provisions would be a material change requiring re‑notice, the board voted to continue the hearing to 04/07/2026 and directed staff to prepare a revised ordinance that removes the CG 3‑acre threshold, drops the duration/vacation clause and eliminates the unimproved/unpaved surface restriction before returning with a final draft for adoption.
What’s next: The commission will reopen the hearing on April 7; staff said they will post the revised draft and notice on the county website prior to that meeting.
