Mendocino County, CA Parking Rules: Driveway Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Encroachment permit required
- MCC 15.20.030 (new driveway approach to County highway)
- Issuing agency
- County Road Department / Department of Transportation
- Drainage
- Culverts required where approach obstructs highway drainage
- Insurance
- Liability policy naming County as additional insured
- Blocking a driveway
- CVC § 22500(e) (state law)
Summary
Constructing a new driveway approach onto a County highway in unincorporated Mendocino County requires an encroachment permit from the County Road Department under Code Section 15.20.030. Blocking a driveway with a parked vehicle is governed by the California Vehicle Code.
No person shall construct new road or driveway approaches to any County highway, install any culvert or pipe within the right of way of any County highway, or perform any other work within the right of way of any County highway, without first securing a permit for that purpose, from the Road Department of the County of Mendocino.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 75).
Full Breakdown
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.
Violations & Fines
Building a driveway approach or working in the County right-of-way without an encroachment permit violates MCC 15.20.030, with penalties under the Streets and Highways Code. Parking that blocks a driveway is enforced under California Vehicle Code Section 22500(e).
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a permit to build a new driveway onto a county road?
Is it illegal to park in front of someone's driveway in unincorporated Mendocino County?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Mendocino County
California rules heatmap·Compare Mendocino County to another location·View the California parking rules overview
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