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Staff Report
City Council
Item No. 2.B
Meeting Date: July 9, 2025
From: Andrew Firestine, AICP, Director of Community and Economic Development
Title: Regulations for the Operation of Food Trucks
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends City Council provide feedback and direction regarding the current mobile food truck regulations and consider potential amendments to the Cathedral City Municipal Code Chapter 5.82 with specific emphasis on allowing food truck vendors to operate on private property with the consent of the property owner.
BACKGROUND:
Chapter 5.82 of the City of Cathedral City Municipal Code was first adopted in 2014 through Ordinance Nos. 735 and 741, creating a new section of code titled “Regulations for the Operation of Food Trucks.” The codified ordinance solely focuses on mobile food vendors operating within the public rights-of-way. It is distinct and separate from the City’s regulations on sidewalk vendors, which are regulated in Chapter 5.98 and can include a mobile cart but not a vehicle. Mobile food vendors regulated in Chapter 5.82 specifically refer to food trucks and mobile food vending from a vehicle.
The current ordinance outlines specific restrictions on minimum distances from schools, fundraising events, and intersections. It also imposes requirements for permits, disclosure of routes to be used, and trash control measures. The ordinance does not address food trucks operating on private property, although it does contemplate a reduced business license fee for food trucks in connection with special use permits and food trucks have commonly been associated with events and special use permits. Notwithstanding this accommodation, City staff’s interpretation of Chapter 5.82 has historically been that food trucks are not permitted on private property.
Over the past several months Staff has received repeated inquiries from both permitted and prospective mobile food vendors requesting the ability to vend on private property, citing improved safety, reduced traffic interference, and easier access to restroom facilities as well as overall increased business viability. Other cities within the Coachella Valley have taken positions supporting the operation of vendors in parking lots on private property, including:
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Indio (with the consent of the property owner and an administrative permit); Palm Springs (with the consent of the property owner); Palm Desert (when it meets a 750-foot buffer from restaurants and other requirements);
Coachella (pilot program at certain parks and downtown locations); and Desert Hot Springs (with the consent of the property owner and an administrative review).
La Quinta has permitted a food truck park in Old Town La Quinta through a temporary use permit.
The lack of specificity in the current code, along with many other desert cities allowing this activity, has resulted in confusion and more complex enforcement, creating the need for a focused discussion on mobile food vending on private property within the City DISCUSSION:
Since 2022, Cathedral City has received minimal complaints regarding the operation of a food truck. Within the GOGov software, the City utilizes the “Vendor Issues” topic to identify and track mobile and street vending complaints within the city. This means that reports of food truck operations overlap with reports of illegal street vending operations. A total of 481 reports under this topic have been received since 2022. Of those, 149 reports originated from residents and businesses while the remaining reports were made by code compliance officers on patrol. Only five of those complaints directly identified a food truck operation and generally referred to these as an “Illegal/Unpermitted Food Truck.” Despite this, responding officers found in four out of the five food truck complaints the operation in question was properly permitted.
The limited number of complaints suggests food truck operators have not been operating in violation of Cathedral City requirements. It may also suggest food trucks operate less frequently within Cathedral City due to the difficulty of adhering to the City’s regulations, including the interpretation disallowing food trucks on private property.
For those food trucks operating within the public right-of-way, Chapter 5.82 of the Cathedral City Municipal Code requires vendors to be licensed through the City and the Riverside County Department of Health. It also contains a minimum set of operational requirements, including:
Food trucks may not obstruct pedestrian or vehicular traffic; Vending is prohibited on the traffic side of the food truck; Food trucks may not encroach onto a sidewalk;
Foot trucks must be at least 25 feet from any street intersection controlled by a crosswalk, traffic light, or stop sign;
Food trucks must be at least 500 feet from schools between 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on school days; and
Food trucks must have a waste receptacle and must pick up, remove, and dispose of all trash generated by the food truck.
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The current regulations do not address vending on private property. Additionally, the regulations lack specificity with other operational elements commonly addressed in food truck ordinances.
Attachment 1 provides a comparative overview of food truck regulations across the Coachella Valley in comparison to the City of Cathedral City. While Cathedral City is the only City to not allow food trucks on private property, multiple cities have chosen to prohibit food trucks from vending within the public right-of-way, including Palm Desert, Palm Springs (in their downtown), La Quinta, and Indio. The overview identifies regulations addressed in other cities that are not covered in Cathedral City’s code including the availability of restrooms for employees, minimum distances from restaurants or other sensitive uses, and hours of operation.
Amendments to the Cathedral City Municipal Code to permit food trucks on private property would be responsive to inquiries from both permitted and prospective mobile food vendors requesting the ability to vend on private property. This could also incorporate other modifications to address other subjects and areas of concern. This may have the additional benefit of removing stationary food truck vehicles from the public right-of-way, reducing the potential for accidents. It would also allow for greater pedestrian access and safer queuing and organizing of patrons.
In consideration of the options available to City Council, the City Council can choose to:
1. Maintain the current regulations and allow mobile food vending only in the public right- of-way with the current restrictions.
2. Initiate an amendment to the Cathedral City Municipal Code to modify elements of the current regulations.
3. Implement a pilot program.
If Council were to direct an amendment to the current regulations, staff would suggest it consider the following:
Allow vending on private property with property owner consent Time-of-day restrictions
ADA compliance and site access
Restroom and handwashing provisions
Safety signage
Minimum distances from restaurants
Through a pilot program, the City Council could designate areas or time-limited permits to evaluate performance and community response before initiating a code amendment.
FISCAL IMPACT:
No immediate fiscal impact is anticipated. Expanding vending options could result in increased business license revenue and reduced enforcement time related to food truck complaints.
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ATTACHMENTS:
1. Comparative Overview