Douglas County, CO Parking Rules: Driveway Rules (2026)

Douglas County does not print a single front-yard driveway ordinance. The rules sit in the district standards and in Part 28 of the Zoning Resolution, and the definition of DRIVEWAY in § 1-3602 is a private vehicular access abutting a street, for the exclusive use of the owners and occupants of the lot, lots or project and their invitees, not considered to be a street.

The most specific driveway language is in the MH Mobile Home District. Section 1-905(9) requires two parking spaces for each mobile home, located at least 15 feet from the interior road from which it takes access, each hard surfaced with asphalt or concrete and measuring no less than eight feet by 20 feet. One additional off-street space per two mobile homes goes in a common parking area within 300 feet of the units. No trailer of any type, boat or detached pickup camper can be kept, stored, or parked on any public right-of-way or private driveway. Section 1-905(16) adds that no vehicle in excess of 3/4-ton carrying capacity can be kept, stored, or parked on any public right-of-way or private road except while making normal deliveries, and § 1-905(10) requires a hard-surfaced storage area for trailers and boats, screened by a solid fence, wall or hedge six feet in height.

For houses, the district parking standards count spaces. The SR Suburban Residential District (§ 1-711) requires two spaces per dwelling, and the RR and ER districts (§§ 1-514 and 1-614) require eight spaces per lot in accordance with the Douglas County Roadway Design and Construction Standards.

Part 28 covers surfacing. Section 1-2805(6) reads that each off-street parking area which is accessory to any principal use other than a single family dwelling located on a lot in excess of 10,000 square feet in size shall be surfaced with bituminous concrete, Portland cement concrete, or similar material approved by the County Engineer and the Director. Section 1-2805(5) requires all off-street parking areas to be properly graded, with the County Engineer approving the drainage and storm water detention design. Section 1-2803 states that no land shall be used for parking until a Site Improvement Plan is approved by the Director.

None of the sections quoted here prints a ban on parking on an unpaved front yard at a single-family home. Restrictions on that in Highlands Ranch come from the Highlands Ranch Community Association covenants, which are private HRCA rules and not county rules.