Bellflower, CA Parking Rules: Driveway Rules (2026)

Two separate parts of the Bellflower Municipal Code work together here. Section 10.12.050(A) makes it unlawful to park any vehicle, or cause any vehicle to be parked, in the front yard, corner side yard or any additional area of a lot situated between the public right-of-way and any residence or accessory building or structure on the lot. The single carve-out is that noncommercial vehicles are permitted in a driveway. Grass, side strips beside the driveway and the space beside the house facing the street all fall inside the ban.

Section 10.12.050 lists three more exceptions. Under subsection (B), front yard parking is permitted from 7:00 p.m. on the day before street sweeping until 7:00 p.m. on the day of sweeping, if the vehicle sits on property adjoining or adjacent to the swept street. Under subsection (C), temporary and infrequent front yard parking is permissible while the vehicle is actively involved in loading or unloading passengers, washing or maintaining vehicles, making pickups or deliveries of goods, wares or merchandise to the building on the lot, or delivering materials for repair, alteration, remodeling or construction of a building on the lot. The code closes that loophole itself: a vehicle is not "actively involved" in a task once it is left unattended for five minutes or longer. Under subsection (D), commercial vehicles engaged in work that requires the vehicle to be parked in a particular location are exempt.

The zoning code limits how much of the front yard can be paved or set aside for cars. Section 17.16.070(A) requires every lot to have a front yard of not less than 20 feet from the front property line, with no building or structure encroaching into it. Subsection (B) then provides that driveways, walkways or other areas available for parking shall not exceed 40% of the required front yard area. That cap counts walkways and any area available for parking, not only the driveway itself, so widening a driveway or adding a pad beside it is measured against the same 40% figure. Lots developed with less than the minimum front yard are deemed conforming under Chapter 17.92.