Hermiston council adopts ordinance making unlicensed food vending a nuisance, directs staff to review license caps

The Hermiston City Council voted unanimously to adopt Ordinance 23-80, adding unlawful food vending to Chapter 92 of the Hermiston Municipal Code and giving staff stronger enforcement authority over unlicensed vendors.

City staff member Spencer summarized the ordinance during an open-house work session, saying the change does not alter existing food-truck permitting, hours, fees or site requirements but makes unlicensed vending a code nuisance to streamline enforcement. "This is not an issue that's limited just to Hermiston. This is actually a regional issue," Spencer said, describing past incidents in the Tri-Cities and local complaints about uninspected vendors.

Under the ordinance summary presented to council, vendors operating on private property would need to display a food-handler certificate from the Oregon Health Authority, hold the appropriate Umatilla County Health or Oregon Department of Agriculture permit depending on the food sold, possess a Hermiston business license and the city mobile-vending license, and have written permission from the landowner to operate at that site. Spencer told the council enforcement typically proceeds from an education-first visit with bilingual accompaniment to a written warning and then citation; he added immediate on-site shutdown remains an option if there is an imminent public-health threat.

Multiple members of the public urged changes to licensing availability and clearer rules. Rocio Hansen, who said she launched a food-truck business in July 2024 and paid for permits and inspections, described being unable to find permitted locations to operate: "If there are no places available, sell something else or do some other kind of business," she told the council, urging officials to ensure permit availability before requiring compliance. Jim Roo, a local business owner and developer, told the council he plans to dedicate a site near City Hall for a centralized food-truck park that could make inspections and compliance easier.

Council members repeatedly framed the ordinance as giving code enforcement ‘‘teeth’’ to address pop-up, uninspected vending that licensed vendors said undermined public health and fair competition. Councilor Brown and others asked staff to explain enforcement mechanics and penalties; staff identified the violation as the most serious class of code breach and referenced a presumptive fine in the meeting record.

Acknowledging permit scarcity raised in public comment, the council also directed staff to return with a recommendation on whether to increase the number of mobile-vendor licenses. City Manager Smith said the council could consider expanding allowed licenses with sufficient council direction and community feedback.

The ordinance was read aloud by City Attorney Tovey and adopted on a unanimous roll call. Councilor Linton moved to adopt the ordinance; the motion was seconded and passed with no dissent. Councilors and staff said the next steps are implementing the enforcement procedure, clarifying code exemptions language, and preparing any license-cap recommendations for a future meeting.