Pismo Beach, CA Parking Rules: Loading Zones (2026)

The Pismo Beach Municipal Code prints two zoning codes under Title 17, and both regulate off-street loading.

1983 Zoning Ordinance, § 17.108.025: commercial uses involving the sale, retail or wholesale, exchange or storage of manufacturers merchandise or non-useable personal property must provide permanently maintained off-street loading and unloading space. The printed table gives zero spaces under 3000 sq. ft. of gross floor area, one space for 3,001 to 30,000 sq. ft., two for 30,001 to 90,000, three for 90,001 to 150,000, four for 150,001 to 230,000, and four plus one space for each 80,000 sq. ft. in excess of 230,000 sq. ft. Tractor-trailer spaces are 12 ft. by 45 ft. with an apron space of 49 feet.

1998 Zoning Code, § 17.34.100: off-street freight and equipment loading spaces are required for all non-residential uses except hotels and motels, unless the director modifies the requirement through site plan and architectural review. Table 3-5 requires none under 3,000 square feet for commercial, manufacturing, industrial, institutional and service uses, one space from 3,001 to 30,000 square feet, and more as floor area rises; office uses under 25,000 square feet need one space. The director decides requirements for unlisted uses by comparison with similar uses.

The 1998 Zoning Code location rule requires loading spaces at the rear of the structure, with truck parking and loading not visible from any major public rights-of-way or any residential use. All loading and unloading must take place on-site, and in no case within adjacent public rights-of-way. Spaces must be not less than fifteen feet wide, forty-five feet long, with fourteen feet of vertical clearance, and a truck-backing space needs a forty-nine foot apron. Loading areas must be screened by walls or landscaping, lit for security with light directed away from neighbors, and striped for "loading only." Roll-up doors belong on the rear of the structure.

Pismo Beach uses two adopted zoning codes. The city's Zoning and Land Use page states that properties inside the Coastal Zone are regulated by the 1983 Zoning Code, and properties outside the Coastal Zone are regulated by the 1998 Zoning Code.