In General.

Dallas City Code ch. 50, art. XII, div. 1

in effect

Dallas City Code § 50-152 DECLARATION OF POLICY.

SEC. 50-152. DECLARATION OF POLICY. It is the policy of the city to promote the protection of the public health, safety, and welfare by the regulation of street vendors operating inside the city. The provisions of this article are to be construed, according to the fair import of their terms, to effect this policy. (Ord. Nos. 16309; 29023)

Dallas City Code § 50-153 GENERAL AUTHORITY AND DUTY OF THE DIRECTOR.

SEC. 50-153. GENERAL AUTHORITY AND DUTY OF THE DIRECTOR. The director shall implement and enforce this article. The director may prescribe rules and regulations governing the conduct of street vendors not inconsistent with the provisions of this article, including, but not limited to, the designation of zones and sites from which street vendors may operate. (Ord. Nos. 16309; 17675; 29023)

Dallas City Code § 50-154 AUTHORITY TO INSPECT.

SEC. 50-154. AUTHORITY TO INSPECT. The director, any representative of the city health officer or environmental health officer, or a peace officer may inspect any street vendor and the business procedure of a street vendor operating under this article to determine whether the vendor is complying with this article, regulations established under this article, and any other applicable city ordinance or state or federal law. (Ord. 29023)

Dallas City Code § 50-155 OFFENSES; PENALTIES.

SEC. 50-155. OFFENSES; PENALTIES. (a) A person who violates a provision of this article, or who fails to perform an act required of the person by this article, commits an offense. A person commits a separate offense each day or portion of a day during which a violation is committed, permitted, or continued. (b) An offense under this article is punishable by a fine of not less than $25 or more than $500, except that a second or subsequent conviction for the same offense within a period of less than one year from the first conviction is punishable by a fine of not less than $100 or more than $500. (c) The culpable mental state required for the commission of an offense under this article is governed by Section 1-5.1 of this code. (d) The penalties provided for in Subsection (b) are in addition to any other enforcement remedies and penalties that the city may have under city ordinances and state law. Prosecution for an offense under this article does not prevent the use of other administrative enforcement remedies or procedures applicable to the conduct involved in the offense. (e) It is a defense to prosecution under this chapter that, at the time of the offense, the person charged was serving or distributing food, without charge, to homeless individuals on public or private property, provided that the person: (1) sent a notice within the time required by subparagraph (B) to the director (by United States mail, facsimile, electronic mail to the addresses or numbers provided by the director, via the City’s 311 call center, or on the City’s Code Compliance Department’s website) containing the following information: (A) the name of the individual or organization that was or will be serving or distributing food to the homeless; (B) the date or dates when food was or will be served or distributed to the homeless; (C) the times of day when food service and distribution is anticipated to or did begin and end on each date listed in the notice; (D) the street address or addresses of where food was or is anticipated to be served or distributed to the homeless or, if the location has no street address, then a description of the location by street block number or by naming the nearest intersecting streets; and (E) the approximate or expected number of food preparers and servers on the site where the food was or will be served or distributed and the approximate or expected number of individuals that were or will be served, provided the number of individuals that were or is anticipated to be served exceeds 75 at a single location; (2) sent the notice required in paragraph (1) at least 24 hours before the service or distribution of food to the homeless will commence, if it is anticipated that more than 75 people will be served, or within 48 hours after the service or distribution of food to the homeless has concluded, if it is anticipated that 75 or fewer people will be served at a single location; (3) if the person is an individual, had attended a free city-sponsored food safety training class within the 24 months preceding the service or distribution of food to the homeless or, if the person is an organization, had at least one person who has attended a free city-sponsored food safety training class or has taken the class to become a certified food handler in the State of Texas within the 24 months preceding the service or distribution of food to the homeless present at all times when food was being served or distributed to the homeless, although this requirement applies only so long as the city sponsors a free food safety training class at least once during each three month period during a calendar year; (4) did not serve or distribute time/ temperature control for safety to the homeless, unless the food has been stored at a temperature of: (A) 41° F. (5° C.) or below; or (B) 135° F. (57° C.) or above; (5) transported the food in a clean conveyance and, if the food was a time/temperature control for safety food, as that phrase is defined in the Texas Food Establishment Rules, as amended, served or distributed it within four hours after preparation; (6) used one of the following methods of sanitizing hands before preparing, serving, or distributing food for the homeless: (A) a hand sanitizer containing at least 70 percent alcohol or another substance capable of killing 99.9 percent of the bacteria on hands within 30 seconds of application; (B) disposable gloves; or (C) handwashing equipment that included at a minimum: (i) a sink, or a five-gallon container with a spigot that provides free-flowing water and a catch bucket to collect wastewater from handwashing; and (ii) soap and individual paper towels; (7) properly disposed of any wastewater generated from any handwashing equipment used in the preparation, service, or distribution of food to the homeless into a sanitary sewer system and did not dispose of the wastewater on the ground or into the stormwater drainage system; and (8) brought a sufficient number of trash bags to dispose of the solid waste generated by the food provided by the servers and used best efforts to remove or cause the removal of all trash or debris from the feeding site that was generated by the service or distribution of food to the homeless, and deposited the trash or debris in a public trash receptacle, or in a private trash receptacle if permission from the receptacle owner was obtained. (Ord. Nos. 29023; 33393)

Dallas City Code § 50-156 ARTICLE CUMULATIVE.

SEC. 50-156. ARTICLE CUMULATIVE. The provisions of this article and other city ordinances are cumulative law, and this chapter does not prevent enforcement of another city ordinance that regulates an area covered by this article and is otherwise applicable. (Ord. Nos. 16309; 29023)

Dallas City Code § 50-157 DEFINITIONS.

SEC. 50-157. DEFINITIONS. In this article: (1) AGENT means any person employed by or contracting with: (A) the holder of a central business district concession license to sell or distribute goods or services under the license; or (B) any other street vendor. (2) ARTS DISTRICT means the area of the city bounded by Woodall Rogers Freeway on the north, Central Expressway (elevated bypass) on the east, Ross Avenue on the south, and St. Paul Street on the west. (3) CBD CORE DISTRICT means the area of the city contained within the boundaries of the central business district, but that does not include the arts district and the West End district. (4) CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT (CBD) means the area of the city bounded by Woodall Rogers Freeway on the north, Central Expressway (elevated bypass) on the east, R. L. Thornton Freeway on the south, and Stemmons Freeway on the west. The central business district includes: (A) the arts district; (B) the CBD core district; and (C) the West End district. (5) COMMERCIAL PRINTED MATTER means any printed or written matter, whether on a sample, device, dodger, circular, leaflet, pamphlet, paper, or booklet, and whether printed, reproduced, or copied, that: (A) advertises for sale any merchandise, product, commodity, or service; (B) directs attention to a business or commercial establishment or other activity for the purpose of either directly or indirectly promoting sales; (C) directs attention to or advertises a meeting, performance, exhibition, or event, for which an admission fee is charged for the purpose of private gain or profit, unless an admission fee is charged or a collection is taken up at the meeting, performance, exhibition, or event only for the purpose of defraying the expenses; or (D) while containing reading matter other than advertising matter, is predominantly and essentially an advertisement and is distributed or circulated for advertising purposes or for the private benefit and gain of any person so engaged as the advertiser or distributor. (6) DIRECTOR means the director of the department designated by the city manager to enforce and administer this article or the director’s authorized representative. (7) FOOD ESTABLISHMENT means a “food establishment” as defined in the Texas Food Establishment Rules, as amended, 25 Texas Administrative Code Chapter 228. (8) GOODS means property of every kind. (9) LICENSEE means a person issued a CBD concession license under this article. (10) MOBILE FOOD UNIT means a “mobile food unit” as defined in the Texas Food Establishment Rules, as amended, 25 Texas Administrative Code Chapter 228. (11) PERSON means an individual, corporation, association, or other legal entity. (12) PUBLIC PROPERTY means any property open or devoted to public use or owned by the city, including, but not limited to, sidewalks, streets, parkways, or esplanades. (13) SERVICES means any work done for the benefit of another. (14) STREET VENDOR or VENDOR means a person who, personally or through an agent, engages either in a business of selling or offering for sale goods or services from any structure or vehicle that is not affixed to the ground or from no structure or vehicle, or the service or distribution of food or drinks free of charge. The term does not include: (A) any person operating, or employed in the operation of, a licensed taxicab, limousine, bus, shuttle, non-motorized passenger transport vehicle, or motor vehicle tow service; or (B) a stand that only offers the occasional sale of lemonade or other nonalcoholic beverages on private property or in a public park by an individual younger than 18 years of age. (15) VEHICLE means every device in, upon, or by which a person or property may be transported or drawn upon a street or sidewalk, including, but not limited to, devices moved by human power. (16) WEST END DISTRICT means the area of the city bounded by Woodall Rogers Freeway on the north; Lamar Street on the east; the MKT railroad tracks on the west; and a southern boundary consisting of and extending along Commerce Street from Lamar Street west to Austin Street, then along Austin Street north to Main Street, then along Main Street west to the MKT railroad tracks. (Ord. Nos. 16309; 17226; 17675; 18702; 29023; 31375; 33283)

Source: City of Dallas, Dallas City Code and City Charter (American Legal Publishing, codelibrary.amlegal.com)URL: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/dallas/latest/dallas_tx/0-0-0-126758Fetched: 10/26/2026