Burien, WA Parking Rules: Overnight Parking (2026)

Burien Municipal Code § 10.15.080 is a time limit, not an overnight curfew. In the City of Burien, King County, Washington, no person can park or stand any vehicle upon any street or public street right-of-way for a period exceeding 24 hours, regardless of any other regulation in effect. The section prints no nighttime window, so a car parked all day and a car parked all night are measured the same way.

A vehicle that stays beyond 24 hours is deemed a hazard or obstruction to traffic or an abandoned vehicle and can be impounded. A junk vehicle, as defined in BMC 8.45.020(5)(c)(iv), on the public street right-of-way is deemed a hazard or obstruction to traffic.

Burien closes the move-it-a-few-feet loophole. Under § 10.15.080(3), moving a vehicle a minimal distance to avoid enforcement without removing it from the public street right-of-way is the same as not moving it at all, and the owner is subject to enforcement action. Minimal distance means at least 30 feet between where the closest bumper was previously parked and the closest bumper where the vehicle is newly parked. A shorter shuffle does not restart the 24 hours.

Proof is flexible. Section 10.15.080(2) lets an officer use reasonable judgment to decide whether a vehicle has been moved within the preceding 24 hours, including visual clues, neighbor statements, lawful enforcement techniques, or other reasonable fact-based evidence. Section 10.15.080(4) says enforcement can be by ticket, towing, booting, or any other lawful method.

Related rules close nearby gaps. Section 10.15.130(2) bars avoiding a posted time limit by moving or reparking on either side of a street within the same block, and § 10.15.100(3) bars parking on a roadway, public right-of-way, or public property for the principal purpose of camping, as defined by BMC 9.85.150. Ordinance 797, adopted in 2025, last amended § 10.15.080.