San Mateo County, CA Parking Rules: Abandoned Vehicles (2026)

San Mateo County treats abandoned, wrecked, dismantled, or inoperative vehicles as a public nuisance under Chapter 7.60 of its Ordinance Code, which applies in the unincorporated area. Section 7.60.140 ("Infraction") provides that it is unlawful and an infraction to leave or permit the abandonment, parking, storing, or leaving of any licensed or unlicensed vehicle or parts of a vehicle that is in an abandoned, wrecked, dismantled, or inoperative condition upon any private or public property for a period in excess of ten days, unless the vehicle or parts are completely enclosed within a building where they are not plainly visible from the street or other property, or are kept in connection with the business of a licensed dismantler, licensed vehicle dealer, or junkyard. The same section makes it an infraction to fail or refuse to remove such a vehicle, or to refuse to abate the nuisance, when ordered to do so under the chapter's abatement provisions or applicable state law. The County's authority to abate and remove these vehicles as public nuisances, and to recover removal costs, comes from California Vehicle Code Section 22660, which lets a county adopt an ordinance for the abatement and removal of abandoned, wrecked, dismantled, or inoperative vehicles. The County Code Compliance Section and the Sheriff's Office enforce these rules; on streets, the state 72-hour standard (California Vehicle Code Section 22651(k)) also applies to vehicles that have not moved.