El Paso, TX Parking Rules: Driveway Rules (2026)

Title 20's off-street parking chapter treats gravel and screenings surfacing as a conditional privilege for residential lots, not a default option. 080(A)(8), a homeowner may use gravel or screenings for required parking only if that parking sits no less than twenty feet from the front property line, or where on-site ponding or a permanent desilting basin handles runoff from the gravel surface, or for any parking beyond the minimum requirement located in the side or rear yard. 030(C) as a coarse aggregate mixture of pebbles or rock fragments coarser than sand, with at least half the volume one-half inch or larger, bare dirt or fine decorative gravel doesn't qualify.

Every gravel or screenings parking area must have its perimeter delineated with edging, curbing, or an abutting hard surface approved by the director of the city development department, so loose material doesn't migrate onto the sidewalk or street. 080(B)(6) caps how far this can go: any parking surface serving more than five spaces must be paved or 'uniformly covered with gravel,' closing off ad hoc dirt lots except for genuinely temporary uses, lots used less than one month, after which access must be blocked and the surface treated with water, oil, or a chemical dust suppressant.

Driveway aprons connecting a gravel area to the public street must still be concrete or asphalt for at least twenty feet from the property line. The city development department enforces these standards through building permit and site plan review; unpermitted gravel parking expansions that violate the setback or paving thresholds are treated as zoning violations subject to code enforcement under Title 20.