10 rules for unincorporated Mendocino County, California.
Verified from official government sources
In unincorporated Mendocino County, recreational vehicles are NOT exempt from the 72-hour street parking limit and may be towed after 72 hours. Living or sleeping in a parked vehicle or trailer on public property for more than one day is separately prohibited.
Mendocino County Code § 15.12.091 (72-hour parking limit)
No person shall park or leave standing a vehicle upon a street or highway within the unincorporated territory of the County for seventy-two (72) or more consecutive hours. Exempted from this Section are passenger vehicles and pickup trucks which are not recreational vehicles parked upon a street or highway in front of the site location appearing on the registration of these vehicles.
Constructing a new driveway approach onto a County highway in unincorporated Mendocino County requires an encroachment permit from the County Road Department under Code Section 15.20.030. Blocking a driveway with a parked vehicle is governed by the California Vehicle Code.
Mendocino County Code § 15.20.030 (Permit Required - Encroachments)
No person shall construct new road or driveway approaches to any County highway, install any culvert or pipe within the right of way of any County highway, or perform any other work within the right of way of any County highway, without first securing a permit for that purpose, from the Road Department of the County of Mendocino.
Mendocino County Code Section 15.12.090 prohibits parking heavy commercial vehicles (10,000+ lb unladen weight) overnight in designated residential areas between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m., with exceptions for active deliveries and permitted construction work.
Mendocino County Code § 15.12.090 (Prohibited Parking - Commercial Vehicles)
No person shall stop, park or leave standing during the hours of 8:00 p.m. through 6:00 a.m. any commercial vehicle, whether attended or unattended, except when necessary to avoid conflict with other traffic, in a designated residential area if such commercial vehicle has or exceeds an unladen weight rating of ten thousand (10,000) pounds or more. Such prohibition shall not apply to any commerc...
Mendocino County controls on-street parking in unincorporated areas through Chapter 15.12 of the County Code, which designates specific no-parking zones, angle-parking areas, and time limits by road and milepost. General on-street rules otherwise follow the California Vehicle Code.
Mendocino County Code § 15.12.100 (Penalty)
Violation of any parking regulation contained in this Chapter is an infraction punishable pursuant to Vehicle Code Section 42001(a).
Unincorporated Mendocino County has no blanket ban on parking a vehicle overnight on public streets, but a 72-hour continuous-parking limit applies, vehicle camping is capped at one day on public property, and a few specific roads bar parking between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Mendocino County Code Ch. 15.14 (Repealed - editor's note, Ord. No. 4353)
Ord. No. 4353, § I, adopted April 5, 2016, repealed ch. 15.14, §§ 15.14.010—15.14.030, in its entirety. Former ch. 15.14 pertained to "Parking of Vehicles, House Cars, Campers and Trailer Coaches for Human Habitation."
Mendocino County processes electric vehicle charging station permits through an expedited building-permit process as required by California law, and new construction must meet CALGreen EV pre-wiring standards. There is no county parking-quota EV ordinance.
Mendocino County Code Chapter 15.28 makes it an infraction to leave a wrecked, dismantled, or inoperative vehicle on public or private property for more than 10 days, and declares such vehicles a public nuisance subject to abatement under California Vehicle Code Sections 22660 and 22661.
Mendocino County Code § 15.28.010 (Vehicle Abatement - Prohibition)
It shall be unlawful and an infraction for any person to abandon, park, store, or leave or permit the abandonment, parking, storing, or leaving of any licensed or unlicensed vehicle or part thereof which is in an abandoned, wrecked, dismantled, or inoperative condition upon any private property or public property for a period in excess of ten (10) days unless such vehicle or part thereof is com...
Only the County may paint or maintain regulatory curb markings on County-maintained roads in unincorporated Mendocino County. The Road Commissioner places markings under Code Section 15.12.080, and curb colors carry the meanings set by California Vehicle Code Section 21458.
Mendocino County Code § 15.12.080 (Markings)
The Road Commissioner shall place or erect and maintain such signs and pavement and curb markings on County maintained roads as he deems necessary to adequately designate the areas of parking restrictions.
Mendocino County does not maintain a general loading-zone color ordinance for unincorporated streets, but the County Code designates specific loading and bus-stop segments in the Town of Mendocino. Loading-zone curb colors otherwise follow the California Vehicle Code.
California Vehicle Code § 21458 (curb marking colors)
Yellow indicates stopping only for the purpose of loading or unloading passengers or freight... White indicates stopping for either of the following purposes: (1) Loading or unloading of passengers. (2) Depositing mail in an adjacent mailbox.
Unincorporated Mendocino County has no dedicated 'oversized vehicle' parking ordinance. Large vehicles are reached through the 72-hour street limit, the heavy commercial-vehicle residential ban, and the California Vehicle Code.
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