Cathedral City, CA Parking Rules: Driveway Rules (2026)

Chapter 11.74 of the Cathedral City Municipal Code regulates vehicle parking and repairs in residential districts. Section 11.74.040(A) prohibits any person owning, leasing, occupying or controlling premises in a residential district, or any lot used for residential purposes, from permitting parking of vehicles in front yards, street side yards and vacant lots at any time except in designated driveways or other designated parking areas. Vehicle covers automobiles, trucks, boats, trailers, motorcycles and recreational vehicles, but not bicycles. The front yard is the part of the lot between the front lot line and the front of the principal building, and the street side yard is the part of a corner lot between the principal building and the property line of the side street.

Section 11.74.060 lets occupants designate a parking area with the written approval of the city planner. The planner approves the area if no more suitable area can be found on the property, specifies its dimensions and location, can require paving with concrete, asphalt, gravel, crushed granite or other suitable parking area materials, and can set screening conditions such as walls or shrubbery. The planner also considers rear and side yards where feasible, to avoid locating designated areas where they are visible from the public street. Recreational vehicles are allowed on a residential lot when parked on a driveway or designated parking area, and no designation is required in a back yard or side yard not fronting on a street.

Section 11.74.070 bars parking, or permitting parking, in a public parkway, defined as the area in the public right-of-way between the curb face and the property line; where no curb exists, no parkway exists. Section 11.74.050(A) exempts parking of operable vehicles in designated driveways and designated parking spaces. The council findings in § 11.74.030 cite eyesore conditions, lower property values and line-of-sight hazards for drivers at corners, driveways and intersections.