24 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY MAY 8-14, 2025 www.montereycountynow.com truck because there is a chance it won’t pass state requirements. There can be other unexpected roadblocks, as well. Permits with the County of Monterey and City of Salinas cover a fiscal year. Permits in the City of Monterey, meanwhile, are issued per calendar year. Monterey has had a food truck ordinance since 2015, and it offers three types of mobile vending permits: long and short-term, as well as on private property. Food trucks can work from 8am-8pm at various busy streets including Del Monte Avenue, Cass Street and Harris Court. Lighthouse Avenue is off-limits. “The street widths are fairly narrow and to have a mobile food vending truck there was considered to be a safety hazard,” explains Kimberly Cole, Monterey’s community development director. In 2021, the City of Salinas approved a food truck ordinance increasing the number of stationary food trucks from 32 to 52, and removing its cap limits for mobile food trucks. Currently, the city has 46 designated and 36 roaming food trucks. The city also offers permits for food trucks on private property, but costly code compliance deters the practice. Besides state and county permits, food truck vendors also need a business license and vendor permit with the city where they operate. Since the ordinance was established, Salinas has made amendments to increase the hours of operation— from 8am-8pm to 6am-10pm—and allowable time at a single location from four to six hours. Every year, they also raffle spots for established vending opportunities. Salinas Assistant Engineer Fernando Rizo says they have relocated at least three food trucks from dangerous or poorly performing areas. If such claims are supported, city officials ask vendors to propose three alternative locations; each is reviewed and once it’s approved, they send a letter to property owners and invite public response. Jesus Perez, owner of three La Paloma trucks, says in Spanish that he requested the relocation of one truck from Cherokee Drive by Northgate Park to Abbott Street. “I endured a year there thinking [sales] will get better,” Perez says, noting his spot was too close to a residential area, and sales weren’t as good as he hoped. Once the city’s new ordinance was in effect, he was able to get a roaming permit. “It wasn’t easy to get a permit before,” he says. According to Rizo, most of the complaints the city receives aren’t related to food safety, but rather for noise— especially near residential areas. “Unfortunately, food truck vendors don’t have control over their patrons,” he adds. Besides annual inspections, the health department performs checks throughout the year. They review how food trucks are currently operating or to investigate complaints. “If we receive any complaints about any food trucks, we will go out there unannounced and do an inspection,” Leon says. Even as the regulatory world turns, consumer interest in food trucks continues to grow. Salinas is currently working on an online map identifying the locations and routes of food trucks in the city. There have been food truck-specific events on Market Street and at the Salinas airport. This year, What’s Grubbin’ Salinas began gathering once a month at the train station (see story p. 20). In Marina, a mobile food vending ordinance has been in effect for less than two years. There are four active mobile food vending permits and about a dozen sidewalk permits, and they can operate from 7am-11pm away from high-traffic areas such as Imjin Parkway or Reservation Road. Marisa Huntley, Marina’s code enforcement officer, says few vendors means less competition. “It’s good business for them because we have very few,” she says. Before this ordinance, vendors obtained a solicitors permit and the Marina Police Department managed the program instead of the city’s Community Development Department. “It was a little bit more difficult,” says Huntley, “because through the police department, you have to get a background check, fingerprints and ID card, etc.” But if the process goes smoothly, vendors can obtain a permit the same day. Guido Persicone, Marina’s Community Development Department director, says most food trucks and sidewalk vendors aren’t English speakers so they decided to make the process as simple as possible, with applications in English and Spanish. (Other jurisdictions, including Monterey County and Salinas, offer applications in English and Spanish.) Persicone notes the vending permit costs the city close to $1,200 to process, but truck owners are charged $250-$475 per year. “If you charge the full amount, no one is going to apply for the permit,” he says. Steven Bracisco, owner and chef at SMS Clam Chowder Hut, preps some ingredients at his commissary location in Carmel, then makes clam chowder in the food truck from scratch. La Paloma owner Jesus Perez was able to get a roaming permit, thanks to a new ordinance in Salinas. A truck he stationed for a year by Northgate Park did not draw as much business as he had expected. NIK BLASKOVICH DANIEL DREIFUSS
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