Murrieta, CA Parking Rules: Overnight Parking (2026)
Key Facts
- Time limit
- 72 consecutive hours
- Applies to
- streets and alleys citywide
- Enforcement agency
- Murrieta Police Department
- Construction no-parking notice
- 24 hours posted
- State authority tracked
- CVC § 22651(k)
- Towing cost
- owner pays removal/storage
Summary
Murrieta does not ban overnight parking outright, but Section 10.32.140 bars leaving any vehicle on a street or alley for more than 72 consecutive hours, tracking the state's 72-hour vehicle removal law. Once a vehicle passes that mark, Section 10.32.150 lets a Murrieta police officer cite it or have it towed.
No person who owns or has possession, custody or control of any vehicle shall park such vehicle upon any street or alley for more than a consecutive period of seventy-two (72) hours as permitted by CVC Section 22651(k). When posted no parking twenty-four (24) hours in advance for construction may be removed by authority of police department.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-23: A Codification of the General Ordinances of the City of Murrieta, California through Ord. 634-26, passed 7-7-2026).
Full Breakdown
Section 10.32.140 sets Murrieta's baseline long-term parking rule: no owner, possessor, or person with custody or control of a vehicle may park it on any city street or alley for a consecutive period longer than 72 hours, the same threshold California Vehicle Code Section 22651(k) uses to authorize removal of a vehicle left too long in one place. The section also lets the city post temporary no-parking signs for construction, effective 24 hours after posting, overriding the 72-hour allowance for that stretch of street.
Section 10.32.150 backs the rule with two separate enforcement paths once a vehicle crosses the 72-hour line: an officer authorized by the chief of police may issue a citation for the overstay, or may have the vehicle removed from the street in the manner allowed by the California Vehicle Code. Because the rule is written around a rolling 72-hour window rather than a single overnight curfew, it reaches a vehicle moved slightly within a block as much as one left completely untouched, and it applies to every residential and commercial street in the city, not only posted zones. A towed vehicle's owner is responsible for the cost of removal and storage before reclaiming it, the same recovery framework the city applies to any other vehicle it removes from a public street.
Violations & Fines
A vehicle parked beyond 72 consecutive hours can draw a Chapter 1.32 infraction citation, with fines from $100 for a first offense up to $500 for a third within a year, or removal and storage at the registered owner's expense once police invoke the towing authority in Section 10.32.150.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I leave my car parked on a Murrieta street overnight indefinitely?
Can Murrieta post a shorter no-parking window than 72 hours for street work?
Who pays if my car gets towed under the 72-hour rule?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Murrieta
How Murrieta compares: Cities with the Strictest Overnight Parking Rules·California rules heatmap·Compare Murrieta to another location·View the California parking rules overview
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Overnight Parking in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Riverside County handle overnight parking.