Fountain Valley, CA Parking Rules: Curb Color Rules (2026)

Curb painting in the City of Fountain Valley is a city function. Section 10.28.090 bars any person from painting any street or curb surface unless authorized by the city. The one exception is numbers: a person who has complied with any city resolution or ordinance on the subject can paint numbers on a curb surface.

Section 10.44.060 gives the job of curb markings to the city traffic engineer, who is directed to maintain all no stopping zones, no parking areas and restricted parking areas by signs or by paint on the curb. Once markings or signs are in place, no driver can stop, stand or park adjacent to a legible marking in violation of Title 10. The code gives that job to the city traffic engineer, not to property owners.

The code ties specific colors to specific rules. Red paint on the curb marks no-parking areas under Section 10.44.070: on either side of a street between the projected property lines of a public walk, public steps or a terminating street, in areas the city traffic engineer finds hazardous, in areas set by council resolution, within 20 feet of the mid-block end of a safety zone, and within 20 feet of an intersection crosswalk in a business district. Blue paint marks street areas restricted to vehicles of physically handicapped persons by resolution.

Fire lanes are designated by the fire department under Section 10.44.078 and marked by a red curb or red paint on the edge of the roadway with the words FIRE LANE clearly marked, or by signs with letters not less than one inch in height. On the private commercial roads listed in Section 10.44.065, the city traffic engineer also maintains no-parking areas by signs or by paint on the curb.