San Leandro, CA Parking Rules: Curb Color Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- SLMC § 6-1-505
- Yellow/white loading limit
- 3 minutes, driver in attendance
- Blue zone
- Disabled placard/plate only
- First infraction fine cap
- $100 (§ 1-12-200(c))
- Who designates colors
- City Manager or designee
Summary
San Leandro assigns five curb-paint meanings under SLMC § 6-1-505: red bans all stopping (except bus loading), yellow and white cap loading stops at three minutes, green marks time-limited zones, and blue reserves spaces for disabled placard holders.
Whenever the City Manager, or designee, designates parking prohibitions or restrictions and directs the placement of curb markings...the following colors only shall be used, and the colors indicate as follows: (a) RED indicates no stopping, standing, or parking, except that a bus may stop in a red zone marked or sign posted as a bus loading zone. (b) YELLOW indicates no stopping, standing, or parking, except for the purpose of active loading or unloading passengers or freight... Non-commercial vehicles shall not be parked in a yellow zone in excess of a period of three minutes, during which the operator must be in attendance... (c) WHITE indicates no stopping, standing, or parking, for any purpose other than loading or unloading passengers or depositing mail in an adjacent mailbox...and in no case for more than three minutes. (d) GREEN indicates no stopping, standing, or parking, for a period of time greater than the specified time limit and/or days by posted signs. (e) BLUE indicates parking limited exclusively to the vehicles of physically handicapped persons displaying a distinguishing license plate or a placard issued pursuant to California Vehicle Code Section 22511.5.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4967405; v8 updated 2026-07-06).
Full Breakdown
Section 6-1-505 of the San Leandro Municipal Code tells drivers exactly what each curb color means once the City Manager or a designee has ordered the marking painted. Red means no stopping, standing or parking at all, with a single carve-out for a bus stopping in a posted bus-loading red zone. Yellow is a commercial loading color: non-commercial vehicles may stop no more than three minutes and the driver must stay with the car the whole time. White works the same way for passenger loading and even mail drop-offs, again capped at three minutes, and that limit runs at all times unless a posted sign narrows it to specific hours.
Green marks a time-limited zone where the exact minutes allowed are set by the posted sign rather than the ordinance itself. 5; parking there without one is a separate, more serious violation than an ordinary overtime ticket. Because the ordinance says these are the only colors that may be used, an unofficial or faded curb marking cannot be enforced as a restriction until the City repaints or re-signs it. The Engineering and Transportation Department, acting through the City Manager's designee, decides which curbs get painted and what the posted hours are, so the citywide color code stays uniform even though individual block restrictions vary by council or staff action.
Violations & Fines
Overtime or unauthorized parking against a curb color is enforced as a Municipal Code infraction under § 1-12-200(c): a fine up to $100 for a first violation in a year, up to $200 for a second, and a third violation of the same section within 12 months can be charged as a misdemeanor. Blue-zone violations without a valid placard carry the separate, higher state disabled-parking penalty under the Vehicle Code rather than the ordinary curb-color fine.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I stop in a yellow curb zone to run into a store?
Is a white curb the same as a passenger loading zone everywhere in the city?
What happens if I park in a blue zone without a placard?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in San Leandro
California rules heatmap·Compare San Leandro to another location·View the California parking rules overview
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Curb Color Rules in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Alameda County handle curb color rules.