La Habra, CA Parking Rules: Driveway Rules (2026)

Section 8.16.040 lists driveway and parking-surface coverage among the conditions the city council has declared a public nuisance rather than a by-right home improvement. Subsection I bars covering more than forty percent of a residential front yard with pavement or other impervious hardscape used for temporary vehicle parking; anything beyond that share of the yard converted to a parking surface is treated the same as any other Chapter 8.16 nuisance, subject to a notice of violation and cure period under Section 8.16.080. The section builds in one path to more coverage: an owner who faces practical difficulties needing a larger paved area must apply for and obtain a zone variance, which requires a hearing before the appropriate zoning body rather than a simple permit.

This coverage rule sits alongside a related nuisance in Section 8.16.040(J), which separately bars parking or storing oversized commercial vehicles, such as tow trucks, tractors or vehicles over twenty-two feet long, eight feet high or ninety inches wide, on a residential street or property outside an active construction period. Community Development staff enforce both provisions together when reviewing a paved-over front yard used for vehicle storage, and the same office that reviews a variance request also handles any resulting nuisance abatement case under Section 8.16.080.