Abilene, TX Parking Rules: Driveway Rules (2026)

Section 19-15(20) of Abilene's nuisance chapter lists parking a vehicle in the yard of any residence, outside an improved parking surface or an area screened by an opaque fence, among the conditions the City treats as a public nuisance. The Code defines 'improved parking surface' in § 19-3 as concrete, asphalt, or any accepted all-weather base material, so gravel, dirt, or bare grass do not qualify no matter how long a car has sat there. A resident can avoid a violation entirely by screening the vehicle from public view behind an opaque fence, an option the ordinance treats the same as paving.

Enforcement follows the general nuisance procedure in Article III of Chapter 19: the City's Administrator, which the Code defines to include Peace Officers, Firefighters, Code Enforcement Officers, and Environmental Enforcement Officers, gives the property owner written notice by certified mail or hand delivery and ten days to correct the violation before the City can abate it and bill the owner. Section 19-33(c) shortens that process for repeat yard-parking cases: once a single notice has been given for a vehicle parked off an improved surface, the City does not have to send another notice for the same violation for six months, so a car moved back into the yard within that window can be cited again without a fresh warning letter.

Unresolved violations carry the same Class C misdemeanor penalty as other Chapter 19 nuisances under § 19-32, with each day the vehicle remains improperly parked treated as a separate offense, and the City can still recover its abatement costs as a lien against the property under § 19-31.