Bowie, MD Parking Rules: Driveway Rules (2026)

Section 26-8 of the City Code, part of Bowie's Chapter 26 vehicle and parking rules, defines an unpaved area broadly: under the chapter's definitions, any parking surface not completely covered by asphalt, brick, block or concrete counts as unpaved, which sweeps in gravel, dirt and grass. The prohibition itself lists both specific hardscape features and a catch-all: a deck, patio, porch, walkway or sidewalk, a basketball, tennis or sport court, and any other unpaved area of a residential lot are all off-limits to parked or stored motor vehicles, watercraft, trailers, motor homes and camping vehicles.

This works alongside § 26-4, which limits residential parking to private passenger vehicles, one camping vehicle, one watercraft and trailer, and one qualifying commercial vehicle under 7,500 pounds, and § 26-9, which separately caps cargo trailers to short pickup or delivery windows or active construction use and requires them to sit on a paved surface. The single exception in § 26-8 covers a snow emergency, when vehicles may be parked on an otherwise unpaved surface to clear roadways and driveways. Bowie's Code Compliance division in Community Services enforces this section citywide, and the Bowie Police Department may also cite vehicles for unpaved parking as part of routine residential parking enforcement.