San Mateo County, CA Parking Rules: Commercial Vehicle Restrictions (2026)

San Mateo County restricts commercial vehicles on residential streets in its unincorporated area. Ordinance Code Section 7.28.030 makes it unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to stop, leave standing, or park a commercial vehicle for more than one hour upon a street, road, highway, or other publicly maintained thoroughfare in any residential zone of the unincorporated area, except when the vehicle is in actual use for the transaction of lawful business in the zone or is temporarily disabled. This one-hour cap is significantly tighter than the general 72-hour passenger-vehicle rule and is the main tool the County uses to keep large work trucks and delivery vehicles from parking long-term in residential neighborhoods. On private property, the County Title 8 Zoning and Development Code adds limits: in certain districts the required front-yard setback may not be used as a parking area, and there is to be no storage or parking of commercial or industrial vehicles on the site except for the purpose of loading or unloading. The County's broader oversized-vehicle ordinance (Section 7.28.070) can also reach larger commercial trucks over six feet high on designated streets. Drivers transacting legitimate business, making deliveries, or temporarily disabled fall within the recognized exceptions.