Palm Desert, CA Parking Rules: Loading Zones (2026)

Palm Desert runs two clocks at the curb. Under § 10.56.030, permission to stop or stand for loading or unloading of materials applies only to commercial vehicles, cannot extend beyond the time necessary, and in no event runs more than twenty minutes. Loading or unloading of materials means commercial deliveries and the delivery or pickup of express and parcel post packages and United States mail. Passenger loading, which includes personal baggage, is capped at three minutes. Subsection D tells enforcement to accommodate necessary and reasonable loading without permitting abuse of the privileges the chapter grants.

The hours come from the curb color in § 10.56.020. A yellow curb bars stopping, standing or parking between seven a.m. and six p.m. of any day except Sundays and holidays for any purpose other than loading or unloading of passengers or materials. Sections 10.56.040 and 10.56.050 repeat the ban on using a yellow loading zone or a passenger loading zone for anything else.

The zones themselves are set by the city traffic engineer under § 10.56.010. Loading zones and passenger loading zones can be marked at any place in the central traffic district or any business district, and elsewhere in front of the entrance to any place of business or any hall or place used for public assembly. In no event can more than one-half of the total curb length in any block be reserved for loading zone purposes. Loading zones are indicated by yellow paint upon the top of the curb, and passenger loading zones by white paint.

Two other rules affect deliveries in the City of Palm Desert. Under § 10.56.060, no person shall stop, stand or park in any alley for any purpose other than the loading or unloading of persons or materials. And on one-way streets, § 10.48.190(D) lets a commercial vehicle actually loading or unloading freight or goods back up to the curb, provided it does not extend beyond the centerline of the street and does not block traffic.