Gilroy Municipal Code Art. II Mobile Vending Permits

A mobile vending facility, that is, any portable container, pushcart, stand, vehicle or wagon used for displaying, selling or offering for sale any food, goods or services, shall be prohibited from operating in commercial zoning districts known as C1 Neighborhood Commercial, C2 Central Commercial and C3 Shopping Center Commercial. No person shall place, maintain conduct, park or allow to stand or remain any mobile vending facility within the city limits without first obtaining a written mobile vending permit to do so, as well as any required identity permits under Article I of this chapter, from the chief of police. No mobile vending facility shall display any sign, flag, banner, whether attached or on a separate structure, except such signs as may be painted thereon in compliance with the city zoning ordinance.

The following uses shall not be considered as mobile vending facilities, and are thus not required to obtain a mobile vending permit hereunder:

(1) Vehicles or trucks used for catering or vending prepared foodstuffs and located upon private property at the invitation of the property owner, solely for the use of the owner or said owner’s tenants or employees and not for the use of the general public.

(2) Any nonmotorized pushcart or stand selling food on a paved private sidewalk (not a parking lot) in a commercial zone, provided that permanent restroom facilities (both men’s and women’s) are located on the same parcel of land, are open for public use for all hours that the pushcart or stand is open, and that the owner or operator of the pushcart or stand has written permission from the owner of the restrooms for his customers to use them. Such permission shall be produced and shown on the demand of any person solicited or of any police officer or official of the city.

(3) Temporary fireworks stands, pumpkin patches, Christmas tree lots, or such other seasonal temporary vendors as may be defined by the chief of police. No such vendor shall commence operation more than thirty (30) days in advance of the date of the applicable seasonal holiday.

(4) Temporary vending facilities owned and operated by a nonprofit or charitable organization and conducting sales for an event or occasion not to exceed three (3) consecutive days within any six-month time period.

(Ord. No. 97-10, § I, 11-5-1997)

(a) Each application for a mobile vending permit shall be on a form provided by the chief of police, shall be accompanied by an application fee established by the city council, shall be signed by the applicant, and shall include the following:

(1) The names and addresses of each person who will occupy or use the mobile vending facility for purposes of exercising said permit;

(2) A certificate of insurance, stating the insurer’s name, policy terms, and principal amounts, not less than a combined single limit, established annually by the city council, of a policy of insurance against public liability, bodily injury, and property damage arising from the permitted activity. Each such policy shall be amendable only upon thirty (30) days’ advance notice to the city and shall name the city as an additional insured; and

(3) Such additional information as may be required by the city administrator.

(b) The chief of police shall grant a mobile vending permit, based upon the information contained in the application, public records, and the recommendations of departmental staff, if he concludes that the granting of such a permit would be in compliance with all of the provisions of this chapter and the intent of this article, and it appears that no undue traffic safety, litter, parking, or other health and safety consequences would result from exercise thereof. Any such permit may be suspended, modified, or revoked by the chief of police when he finds a violation of or noncompliance with the terms of such permit, or with other applicable laws or regulations.

(Ord. No. 97-10, § I, 11-5-1997)

No person required to obtain a mobile vending permit hereunder shall place, park or allow to stand the portable container, pushcart, stand, vehicle or wagon used for displaying, selling or offering for sale any food, goods or services in any of the following places within the city.

(1) Upon private property, except with the written permission of the owner of the property. Such permission shall be produced and shown on the demand of any person solicited or of any police officer or official of the city.

(2) In or upon any street within three hundred (300) feet of the nearest property line of any elementary or junior high school property.

Regardless of whether on public or private property, no person required to obtain a mobile vending permit hereunder shall place, park or allow to stand the portable container, pushcart, stand, vehicle or wagon at any one place except at the request of a bona fide purchaser for a reasonable period of time, not to exceed ten (10) minutes, provided that when such person thereafter moves any such portable container, pushcart, stand, vehicle or wagon, it shall be moved a minimum distance of one hundred (100) feet before again being stopped.

(Ord. No. 97-10, § I, 11-5-1997)