Pasco’s food truck rules were a drag. Diners on the go should like the changes

By the end of August, Pasco could be the new go-to spot for food trucks in the Tri-Cities.

Changes to Pasco’s city code would allow for more use by removing and updating restrictions for where they can park and for how long they can be open. Among the changes, mobile vendors would be able to park outside of schools and near other food businesses.

“The current code is restrictive,” said Jacob Gonzalez, Pasco’s community and economic development director. “It requires vendors to be 300 feet from another vendor, so the idea of having hubs of food trucks is off the table.”

Currently, food truck vendors are limited to being on lots where there is a primary business. The proposed changes allow food trucks to serve from public and private places, including vacant lots.

Richard Ellis is the co-owner/designer at Columbia Food Trucks. The Pasco business manufactures food trucks and trailers, and helps business owners navigate the process of opening their food trucks.

“It’s been a real chiller on the hubs or doing anything like that,” Ellis said. “The city of Pasco is holding out on us.”

Food truck parks, like Summer’s Hub in Kennewick, and expanded outdoor dining will also be allowed. Sidewalk cafés would include sidewalk extensions and parking lot areas.

Gonzalez will present the code changes to city council again by the end of July. He hopes that the new code will be approved and implemented as soon as this fall.

Leading priorities

The Downtown Pasco Master Plan , adopted in 2023, prioritizes boosting active, safe streets and supporting business growth. City staff and consultants from Framework interviewed four vendors and organized public engagement events to get comments on the issue.

Framework is the consulting firm that helped the city develop the Downtown Pasco Master Plan.

“It allowed us to hear from businesses from all sorts of backgrounds and industries,” Gonzalez said. “It seems like a no-brainer. This code is not currently allowing some of our small businesses to reach levels of success that they could if our code wasn’t in the way.”

Gonzalez explained that in recent years, council members have been focused on expanding business opportunities and making Pasco more business-friendly.

“The intent from the get-go with this effort was to increase flexibility and make it practical. We want to be able to regulate based on things such as safety and health. But other than that, the focus is what we can do to allow mobile vending to be an opportunity throughout the entire city so that businesses can get in with a lower threshold.”

Pasco has a history of having a thriving mobile vending scene. These changes could bring that back.

“Over the last 15 to 20 years, there were some codes put into place to regulate mobile vending,” he said. “Maybe the pendulum swung too much to that side. Now we’re realizing that while the city regulated, we also made it hard for these businesses to exist and be successful.”

Business development

Ellensburg, Kennewick, Walla Walla, and Yakima were models for the changes.

“With mobile vending and food trucks in particular, we’ve started to see other communities benefit from them,” Gonzalez said. “We had that same opportunity here, but we weren’t seeing the results. The reason for that, likely, is the restrictions.”

Food trucks and mobile vendors will be allowed in commercial and industrial areas.

“Especially as we see rapid industrial development, there is a going to be a need to have food available, whether it’s one cart or four,” Gonzalez said.

He added that there may be a pipeline from the Pasco Specialty Kitchen to food trucks in the future.

“The Pasco Specialty Kitchen has helped produce and launch a lot of really great food businesses and restaurants throughout our region,” he said. “This is another opportunity for them to go from the Specialty Kitchen to a food truck or mobile vending.”

The code changes also will make it easier for mobile vendors to get licensed. The city works with the bi-county health district to ensure that food trucks are meeting health and safety regulations.