Lexington County, SC Parking Rules: Commercial & Oversized Vehicles (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Zoning Ordinance § 21.21.m
- Unrestricted tier
- Standard pickups allowed without restriction
- Screened tier
- Dump trucks, moving vans need full screening
- Banned outright
- Garbage trucks, graders, tour buses, tankers prohibited
- No variance
- BZA variance unavailable for the prohibited category
- No grandfathering
- Existing violations of any tier aren't grandfathered
Summary
Lexington County splits commercial-type vehicles into four tiers when parked at a residence, from pickups allowed with no restriction to garbage trucks and earthmovers banned outright. Zoning Ordinance § 21.21.m sets the rules, and none of the restrictions can be waived through grandfathering.
The repetitive parking of commercial-type vehicles shall be allowed as an accessory activity to a residential use only through compliance with the following restrictions or through a variance from the Board of Zoning Appeals. The parking of any vehicle shall not violate the vision clearance requirements of this Ordinance or be located within a road right-of-way. There are also no grandfathering provisions for any existing violations of these restrictions. ... Such accessory activities shall not include any of the following: The repetitive parking of the following commercial-type vehicles as an accessory activity to residential use. Since these activities are prohibited, a variance is not allowed as a method of relief from these restrictions, nor are there any grandfathering provisions for any existing violations.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 20).
Full Breakdown
Section 21.21.m regulates the repetitive parking of commercial-type vehicles as an accessory activity to a residential use, and sorts vehicles into four tiers. Standard pickups, including two-door and four-door extended-cab models and six-wheel dual-rear-wheel trucks, are allowed with no restriction. A second tier, small commercial vans, tour vans, privately owned ambulances, RVs, school buses, and garden or farm tractors, must be properly licensed and parked completely off the road right-of-way. A third tier, including large step vans, tractor-trailer cabs alone, and tow trucks, must sit beyond any setback line the ordinance imposes; on-call employees' commercial vehicles or equipment get the same treatment as long as storage doesn't exceed 48 hours in a given week and doesn't violate any HOA covenant. A fourth tier, car carriers, glass carriers, tour minibuses, full tractor-trailer combinations, dump trucks, moving vans, flatbeds, and backhoes, is allowed only if completely screened from the road and all surrounding property.
Some equipment is barred outright regardless of screening: full-size tour buses, vehicles hauling hazardous materials, tanker trucks carrying hazardous or flammable liquids or gases, motor graders, front-end loaders and other earthmoving equipment, garbage trucks, and bucket trucks. The ordinance is explicit that a variance from the Board of Zoning Appeals is not available as relief for the prohibited category, and there is no grandfathering for existing violations of any tier of § 21.21.m, unlike some other nonconformities the ordinance otherwise tolerates.
Violations & Fines
Parking a restricted or prohibited commercial vehicle at a residence outside the tier it belongs to, unscreened when screening is required, inside a setback, or on the prohibited list altogether, is a zoning violation. There's no variance available for the prohibited category and no grandfathering for any tier, so enforcement runs to the county's general penalty under Ord. No. 98-1, § 2: Magistrate's Court prosecution, each day a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I park my work truck at my house in Lexington County?
Is a bucket truck or garbage truck allowed at a residence?
Can I get a variance to park a prohibited vehicle at my home?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Lexington County
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