By Sara Beth Williams–
The Citrus Heights City Council on Wednesday directed city staff to explore tightening mobile food vendor regulations to include restrictions against food truck vendors operating in the same parking lot, or within a specific distance to adjacent restaurants that have the same or similar menus as the food truck.
During the Dec. 10 City Council meeting, the council listened and then discussed the current food truck regulations, which city staff presented to the council as part of a broader strategic objective to align local rules with those of Sacramento County and neighboring jurisdictions.
A staff report said matching county rules would help reduce confusion for operators and streamline enforcement. However, as evaluation has continued, mobile food vending has proven to be more nuanced than originally anticipated, with Citrus Heights experiencing both compliance challenges and mixed feedback from businesses and residents.
Prior to the meeting, city staff reached out to all restaurant owners, food truck owners, and the owner of the future Citrus Heights Food Truck Plaza giving advance notice of the topic of discussion, but no representatives of any group appeared at the council meeting in person to provide comment or feedback. The owners of R Vita Cantina, a Mexican restaurant on Sunrise Boulevard, submitted written public comment which was read aloud. The owners of the Mexican restaurant stated that they do not wish for mobile food trucks to be banned, and respect the entrepreneurial aspect of food vending.
“The hope would be for that food truck to acquire their clientele and look at making Citrus Heights their home for a brick and mortar business. The problem exists if that is never their intentions,” the owners stated, adding that they would not appreciate a food truck parked in their parking lot serving the same type of food that they currently serve.
Following the discussion of regulations, new Mayor MariJane Lopez-Taff asked what other feedback was received, considering no business representatives appeared in person to give comments. The city said the Citrus Heights Chamber of Commerce informed them that they would like to withhold their own feedback until the city and Council discussed the matter.
According to the current mobile food vendor regulations for food trucks operating on private properties such as in business center parking lots, food trucks in Citrus Heights must secure property owner permission, hold a city business license, maintain county health approvals, and obtain a Temporary Use Permit if operating for longer than two hours at a single location.
A Temporary Use Permit allows a truck to operate at one location for up to 180 days within a 12-month period. This limit was designed to give mobile vendors business exposure while addressing concerns raised by brick-and-mortar restaurants about competition from trucks parked nearby.
According to a chart from the agenda packet, four food trucks hold active permits: Tacos El Mirador at 6234 Auburn Blvd, Lonchera Tierra Caliente at 7680 Greenback Ln., Yetzi Tacos at 7634 Greenback Ln., and Chivitos Tacos at 7840 Greenback Ln. with a permit set to expire at the end of December 2025.
Staff noted that food trucks which operate at special events operate with a special event permit and aren’t subject to regulations during the special event, such as concerts in the park or the city’s annual Stars and Stripes event.
Several council members noted that more than four trucks operate in the city, most of them doing so in the evenings and late into the night. Newly selected Vice Mayor Porsche Middleton expressed concerns regarding mobile vendors who set up mobile kitchens with tables and chairs in parking lots adjacent to brick-and-mortar restaurants. Councilmember Kelsey Nelson agreed, saying that without vendors with chairs and tables, patrons looking for a sit-down restaurant would be more likely to visit a brick-and-mortar establishment.
Councilmember Jayna Karpinksi-Costa said one local Mexican restaurant owner had complained to her regarding the fact that a taco truck regularly positions itself in the evenings in front of his restaurant serving the same food he serves to customers, resulting in him having to lay-off two employees. Several council members agreed, and Karpinski-Costa and Nelson suggested limiting food trucks to commercial parking lots that don’t already have a sit-down restaurant. Additionally, the council brought up concerns of the required distance of restrooms to food truck vendors, saying that the current distance requirement is too far in some instances.
While current city regulations are generally in line with nearby jurisdictions, staff outlined several options to consider that that included tightening regulations, prohibiting mobile food vending on private property; limiting each vendor to one 180-day Temporary Use Permit per year citywide, with a required rest period before they may return to a former site; restricting food trucks from operating in commercial centers that contain brick-and-mortar restaurants or commercial kitchens; establishing buffer zones between food trucks and restaurants; and allowing mobile food vending only within an approved Food Truck Plaza.
Following discussion, the council directed city staff to return with an ordinance that addresses distance requirements of food trucks from agreed-upon restrooms and other adjacent brick-and-mortar restaurants, time limits for mobile food vendors, and to restrict the use of outdoor tables and chairs by mobile food vendors.
