Anaheim Driveway Rules Rules (2026): What You Need to Know

The City of Anaheim Municipal Code Title 18 (Zoning) and Title 4 (Public Health, Welfare & Sanitation) establish the rules governing vehicle parking on private residential property. All vehicle parking on residential lots must occur on an approved hard surface — concrete, asphalt, brick, or permeable pavers that meet city engineering standards. Parking on grass, bare dirt, gravel, or landscaped areas is prohibited and constitutes a code violation. Expanding a driveway or creating a new paved parking area on residential property requires a building permit and must comply with lot coverage limits, setback requirements, and the city's stormwater management standards, which require permeable surfaces or drainage improvements for new impervious areas.

Vehicles parked in driveways may not overhang or encroach upon the public sidewalk. Sidewalk obstruction violates both the Anaheim Municipal Code and ADA accessibility requirements for public pedestrian pathways. In neighborhoods where driveways are short — common in Anaheim's post-war residential tracts built in the 1950s through 1970s — this can limit the number of vehicles that can be parked on the property without encroaching on the sidewalk. The driveway apron connecting the private driveway to the public street must also remain clear and unobstructed at all times to facilitate traffic flow and emergency vehicle access.

Inoperable, dismantled, or unregistered vehicles visible from the public right-of-way are classified as a public nuisance under both the Anaheim Municipal Code and California Vehicle Code Section 22658. Such vehicles must be stored inside an enclosed garage or behind a solid fence or wall that completely screens them from public view. Covering an inoperable vehicle with a tarp while it sits in an open driveway generally does not meet the screening requirement. Garage spaces that were counted as required parking in the original building permit must retain their vehicle-parking function; converting a garage to a bedroom, workshop, or storage room without obtaining proper permits and providing replacement parking spaces is a zoning violation. Residents may report property maintenance and vehicle storage concerns to Anaheim Code Enforcement at (714) 765-5158.