Mendocino County, CA Parking Rules: Driveway Rules (2026)

Mendocino County Code Section 15.20.030 governs work in the County highway right-of-way. No person may construct new road or driveway approaches to any County highway, install a culvert or pipe within the right-of-way, or perform other right-of-way work without first securing an encroachment permit from the County Road Department (now the Department of Transportation). Where a driveway approach would obstruct the normal drainage of a County highway, culverts or drain pipes must be installed under the approach, sized and located as the Road Department determines, at the applicant's expense and under Road Department supervision. Applicants must carry liability insurance naming the County as additional insured. Penalties for violating the chapter mirror those in Chapter 6, Division 2 of the California Streets and Highways Code. The County Code does not set a separate ordinance on parking that blocks a private driveway; that conduct is controlled by the California Vehicle Code, which (under CVC Section 22500(e)) prohibits stopping, parking, or leaving a vehicle in front of a public or private driveway. For driveway dimensions and access standards on a parcel, the County's Road Standards and the Zoning Code apply.