Fullerton Municipal Code Ch. 8.70 Food Vending Vehicles

Section

Cross-reference:

Food handling businesses, see Chapter 5.03

(A) Cal. Vehicle Code § 22455 allows municipalities to regulate mobile food vending in order to protect public safety and Article XI, § 7 of the State Constitution extends to municipalities the police power authority to regulate in furtherance of public health and welfare.

(B) The evening operation of mobile food vending trucks in the city’s downtown area, prior to the prohibition of such activity in or about April, 2010, constituted a significant public safety problem, as evidenced by the repeated and regular need for law enforcement assistance to address and resolve public safety problems caused by the congregation of downtown area bar patrons at or near mobile food vending trucks parked in the downtown area during the evenings.

(C) Continuing public safety problems are caused by the operation of fast food establishment and/or inexpensive food establishments operating in the downtown area during the evening, which attract downtown area bar patrons requiring repeated and regular law enforcement assistance to address and resolve public safety problems caused by their congregation.

(D) Mobile food vending vehicles create the potential for safety hazards, such as blocking sight lines at intersections and crosswalks, encouraging pedestrians to cross streets mid-block to reach a vending vehicle, and causing additional conflicts between drivers and pedestrians, especially if the mobile food trucks are parked and serving customers on streets with posted speed limits over 35 mph.

(E) The act of looking for prospective buyers while operating a mobile food vending vehicle may make the operator less attentive to pedestrian and vehicular traffic. When done on public roadways, this poses obvious traffic and safety risks to the public, which the city seeks to prevent.

(F) Mobile food vendors who fail to park their vehicles correctly during a transaction attract prospective buyers onto public roadways, creating a further traffic and public safety hazard.

(G) The city has an important and substantial public interest in providing regulations to prevent safety, traffic and health hazards, as well as to preserve the peace, safety and welfare of the community.

(Ord. 3191, passed - -2013)

For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.

CITY ATTORNEY. The City Attorney of the City of Fullerton.

DOWNTOWN AREA. The geographic area within the city enclosed and bordered on the north by Chapman Avenue, on the east by Lemon Street, on the south by Walnut Avenue and on the west by Highland Avenue.

FOOD VENDING VEHICLE. Any vehicle, as that term is defined in the Cal. Vehicle Code, which is equipped or primarily used for retail sales of produce and/or prepared, prepackaged or unprepared, unpackaged food or foodstuffs of any kind on any public street, alley or highway or private street or alley within the city. The inventory of these vehicles is not necessarily limited to edible items and may include non-food sundries.

HEALTH PERMIT. The food truck permit required by the County Health Department.

OPERATOR. Any and all natural person or entity who:

(1) Owns, controls, manages and/or leases a food vending vehicle;

(2) Contracts with a person(s) to drive, operate, prepare food and/or vend from a food vending vehicle; and/or

(3) Drives, operates, vends and/or prepares food on or from a food vending vehicle.

PERSON. Any natural person, firm, partnership, association, corporation or other legal entity of any kind or nature.

RESTOCKING. The transfer of goods or merchandise to a food vending vehicle from any other person or vehicle and includes, but is not limited to, loading and delivery of goods and merchandise.

VEND or VENDING. Soliciting, displaying or offering produce, prepared food, prepackaged food or non-food sundries of any kind for sale or barter or exchange from a food vending vehicle on a public or private street, alley, highway or public place within the city and includes the movement or standing of a food vending vehicle for the purpose of searching for, obtaining or soliciting retail sales of produce, prepared food, prepackaged food or non-food sundries, including, but not limited to, goods, wares or merchandise.

(Ord. 3191, passed - -2013)

Any person vending from a food vending vehicle shall comply with the following regulations.

(A) Each operator causing the sale of or offering for sale any produce or other food item for which a health permit is required by law shall possess and at all times display such required permit in conspicuous view upon each such vehicle.

(B) Each operator shall possess and at all times display in conspicuous view upon each such vehicle, a city business registration certificate.

(C) No vending from a vehicle shall be permitted within 50 feet of any intersection of two or more public streets, nor within 200 feet of any park or playground facilities.

(D) No vehicle shall be parked, stopped or left standing in any manner which blocks or impedes vehicular access to any driveway or restricts the free movement of other vehicles upon the public street.

(E) All food vending vehicles shall be equipped with refuse containers large enough to contain all trash and refuse generated by the operation of such vehicle. The operator of the food vending vehicle shall pick up all trash and refuse generated by such operation within a 25-foot radius of the vehicle before such vehicle is moved.

(F) No vending shall be permitted except after the vehicle has been brought to a complete stop and parked adjacent to the curb in a lawful manner.

(G) No vending shall be permitted in the downtown area by any operator between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m., on both private and public property.

(H) No operator of a food vending vehicle shall operate any sound amplification systems or other sound making devices or music systems, to advertise, draw attention to or announce the presence of any such vehicle while such vehicle is moving, stopped, standing or parked upon any public or private street immediately contiguous to any residentially zoned property within the city.

(I) (1) Non-amplified sound-making devices shall be permitted, provided:

(a) Such sounds shall not be made while the vehicle is stopped, parked or otherwise in a stationary position; and

(b) Such sounds shall not be audible to a person with normal hearing for a distance of more than 200 feet.

(2) Minors under the age of 16 shall not sell or vend from any food vending vehicle. At no time shall minors under the age of 16 be on or in a food vending vehicle without the presence of a person authorized by law to drive such vehicle and such person shall have in his or her possession a valid state driver’s license.

(J) Restocking of a food vending vehicle is prohibited on a public or private street or alley.

(K) No food vending vehicle shall attach to or receive any utilities from private or public property.

(L) No person shall vend from a food vending vehicle that is stopped, parked or standing on any public street, alley or highway when the prospective customer is sitting or standing in another vehicle.

(M) No person shall vend to any customer from a food vending vehicle which is parked, stopped or standing on any public street, alley or highway when the prospective customer is located in that portion of the street, alley or highway which is open to vehicular traffic; except that vending may occur from the right side or rear of a lawfully parked food vending vehicle. Under no circumstances may vending occur from the left side of a food vending vehicle. Notwithstanding the above provisions, no person shall vend to any customer whose location creates a traffic hazard.

(N) No person shall vend to any customer from a food vending vehicle when any part of the food vending vehicle is open to prospective customers other than on the right side or rear of such vehicle.

(O) No person shall vend from a food vending vehicle which is parked, stopped or standing on any public street, alley or highway where the posted speed limit on the public street, alley or highway is greater than 35 mph.

(Ord. 3217, passed - -2015)

(A) The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to food vending vehicles that provide meals or snacks for employees of businesses located on private property and stopped for periods of 30 minutes or less.

(B) This chapter shall not apply to any city sponsored event where the operator of the food vending vehicle is subject to a contract with the city.

(Ord. 3191, passed - -2013)

The provisions of this chapter shall be applicable to all persons and businesses described herein whether the described activities were established or operating before or after the effective date of the ordinance enacting this chapter into law.

(Ord. 3191, passed - -2013)

Any food vending vehicle operated contrary to the provisions of this chapter is hereby declared to be a public nuisance. The City Attorney may, in addition to or in lieu of prosecuting a criminal action hereunder, commence an action or proceeding for the abatement or removal of the vehicle in the manner provided in Title 6 of this code. The City Attorney may also apply to any court of competent jurisdiction to restrain and enjoin any person from operating a food vending vehicle contrary to the provisions of this chapter.

(Ord. 3191, passed - -2013)

Any violation of the provisions of this chapter shall be punished pursuant to the provisions of Chapters 1.08 and/or 1.10 of this code. A criminal complaint charging such violation shall specify whether the violation is a misdemeanor or an infraction. No remedy to correct violations of this chapter shall be exclusive of each other, and the city may enforce this chapter’s provisions through any legal or equitable remedy, including, but not limited to, injunctive relief. Each day a violation of any provision of this chapter shall continue shall be a new and separate violation.

(Ord. 3191, passed - -2013)