Washington County, WI Parking Rules: Driveway Rules (2026)

Washington County Code § 200-5, Restrictions on stopping or parking, sets out where a vehicle cannot be left standing on county roads. Subsection D lists specific places where parking is barred outright: in a loading zone, in an alley within a business district, within 10 feet of a fire hydrant, within four feet of the entrance to an alley or a private road or driveway, closer than 15 feet to the near limits of a crosswalk, and anywhere posted with an official no-parking sign. The driveway buffer keeps the mouth of a private road or driveway clear so a vehicle can pull in or out without being blocked by a car parked at the curb. The only exception under Subsection D is a vehicle actually loading, unloading, or receiving and discharging passengers while a licensed operator stays with it so it can be moved immediately.

Section 200-7C makes the general penalty in Chapter 1, Article III of the Code of Washington County apply to violations of §§ 200-3 through 200-6, which covers this driveway-clearance rule: a forfeiture of not less than $10 nor more than $2,000, plus statutory court costs and penalty assessment, and up to 90 days in the County Jail if the forfeiture and costs go unpaid. Section 200-8 assigns enforcement to the Sheriff's Office, which issues citations under the uniform parking-citation procedure of § 345.28, Wis. Stats., letting a driver mail payment to the Sheriff's Office within 10 days instead of appearing in court. Under § 200-8E, if the driver of an illegally parked vehicle cannot be identified, the registered owner is presumed to have committed the violation.