La Mesa, CA Parking Rules: Curb Color Rules (2026)

La Mesa Municipal Code § 12.16.090, adopted by Ordinance 1379 in 1963 and still in force, states flatly that no person, unless authorized by the city, shall paint any street or curb surface. The only carve-out is for someone who paints house numbers on a curb after complying with whatever city resolution or ordinance governs that practice; every other curb-painting act, red zones, private 'no parking' markings, decorative work, stays illegal without city sign-off. The city traffic engineer holds the separate, affirmative authority under § 12.40.030 to mark curbs for no-stopping and no-parking zones, which is the lawful channel property owners and contractors are expected to use instead of painting curbs themselves.

Because Title 12 does not set a section-specific fine for § 12.16.090, enforcement falls to the code's general penalty clause at § 1.01.080: a violation of this code defaults to an infraction unless it falls under zoning, building, mechanical, housing, plumbing, fire, or emergency provisions, which are charged as misdemeanors. An infraction conviction is punishable by a fine not exceeding two hundred fifty dollars, while the city attorney retains discretion to charge a misdemeanor instead in appropriate cases, exposing a violator to up to a one-thousand-dollar fine and up to six months in the San Diego County jail.

Each day a violation continues counts as a separate offense under § 1.01.080(a)(4), and the code also allows the condition to be redressed by civil action or abated as a public nuisance. La Mesa Police Department and Community Development code enforcement are the agencies positioned to cite curb-painting violations, since Public Works maintains the city's own official curb markings under the traffic engineer's separate authority.