Sandoval County, NM Parking Rules: Commercial & Oversized Vehicles (2026)

Section 13 of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance defines a 'commercial vehicle' as any motor vehicle with a manufacturer's chassis rating greater than one ton. Building on that definition, Section 13(D)(9) sets a bright-line cap for residential lots: parking even a single commercial vehicle rated over five tons, or parking two or more commercial vehicles each rated under five tons, is treated as a commercial use of the property and is prohibited outright, regardless of the county's off-street parking rules for that district. Below that threshold, one commercial vehicle under five tons is still allowed, but it comes with siting restrictions: the vehicle cannot be parked in the lot's required front yard or street-side yard, and it must be screened from view from the street.

These rules sit inside the county's broader off-street parking chapter, which also bars recreational vehicles, boats, and trailers from a residential lot's required front yard within the Urban Residential Districts, requiring them instead to be stored in the side or rear yard and screened by solid fencing or walls. Because the commercial-vehicle threshold applies district-wide across every Urban Residential District, a homeowner or contractor who parks a heavy truck or multiple work vehicles at a residence, rather than at a commercial or industrial site, is exposed to a zoning violation even if the vehicle otherwise fits on the lot.