Selling tacos or fruit from a roadside tent in unincorporated Pierce County could soon land a vendor in jail for up to 90 days.

The Pierce County Council's Public Safety Committee held a public hearing Monday, Oct. 12, on Proposal O2026-564, an ordinance that would make operating a food cart, stand, tent, booth or kiosk without a health permit a misdemeanor. Councilmember Dave Morell, who represents District 1, introduced the measure.

Under the proposal, individual vendors would face up to 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. Owners and employers behind the operations could face a gross misdemeanor carrying up to 364 days in jail and a $5,000 fine. The Pierce County Sheriff's Office would enforce the rules and could impound equipment on the spot.

As of Oct. 12, the full council had not scheduled a final vote.

The ordinance follows a sharp rise in unpermitted food vending across the county. The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department (TPCHD) shut down eight unpermitted vendors in 2024 and 143 in 2025, KING5 reported. As of Aug. 31, the department had shut down another 55 in 2026, with 60% identified as roadside taco tents or fruit carts, according to The News Tribune.

Health department inspections have found meat stored without refrigeration, food prepared on the ground and cooking near trash, according to KOMO News. In October 2025, investigators discovered a makeshift commissary kitchen at a Tacoma residence used by multiple unpermitted vendors, The News Tribune reported Sept. 8.

At the Oct. 12 hearing, TPCHD food and community safety manager Christina Sherman said vendors lack sanitation to wash hands, access to restrooms and refrigeration to keep food at safe temperatures.

"It's a whack-a-mole," Morell said at the hearing. "They move somewhere else and set up."

Health investigators have noticed similarities among many unpermitted vendors, including identical setups, menu items and times of operation. The sheriff's office is assisting in an ongoing investigation into who runs the network.

The ordinance would also bar vendors from operating between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., setting up on public streets or sidewalks, or blocking traffic and utilities. It applies only in unincorporated Pierce County, not inside city limits. Licensed food trucks are not affected.

The cost of compliance is steep for small operators. A temporary permit to sell high-risk foods runs $360 to $540, and a new permit is required each time a vendor moves locations. Commissary kitchen space around Tacoma averages $1,500 to $1,600 a month, The News Tribune reported Sept. 8. That price gap shows up at the register: unpermitted vendors can sell tacos for about $1.50 each, while permitted trucks charge $3 to $3.50 to cover operating costs.

Not everyone at the hearing backed the criminal approach. A woman who identified herself as an employee of a Tacoma-based nonprofit said vendors want the county to try other steps before criminalization.

In a September interview with The News Tribune, Kris Oldenburg, audit and compliance manager for the City of Tacoma's Tax and Licensing division, raised a related concern. He said the people staffing the stands may not be the business owners and may lack the ability to comply.

If the state legislature passes a law preempting the county's rules, the ordinance would end automatically. The penalty structure aligns with state statute RCW 70.05.120(4), which classifies violations of health department regulations as misdemeanors.