Lake County, CA Parking Rules: Loading Zones (2026)

17 of the Zoning Ordinance requires off-street loading facilities for any building of 10,000 square feet of gross floor area or more that is occupied by manufacturing, storage, warehouse, goods display, retail store, wholesale store, market, hotel, hospital, mortuary, laundry, dry cleaning, or any similar use that receives or distributes merchandise by vehicle. That threshold triggers one loading space, with an additional space required for every 20,000 square feet of gross floor area beyond that, or major fraction of it, all located on the same parcel as the building.

Retail nurseries are measured by land area instead of building size: they must provide one loading space for every acre of use area. Each loading space has to meet a minimum footprint of 35 feet in length by 12 feet in width, with at least 14 feet of overhead clearance so delivery trucks can maneuver in and out. Placement is restricted too: a loading space cannot sit in a required front yard, and where it is adjacent to an "R" residential zoning district it must be screened by a fence at least 8 feet tall.

The section also requires enough room on-site for vehicles to turn and maneuver, and mandates that required loading spaces never block access to any required parking lot or parking space. These standards apply in any zoning district in the unincorporated county, so a warehouse in the M1, M2 or MP industrial districts faces the same loading-space math as a retail store in a C2 or C3 commercial district.