Petaluma, CA Parking Rules: Overnight Parking (2026)
Key Facts
- Citywide time limit
- 72 consecutive hours, § 11.40.060
- Movement required to reset clock
- At least one-half mile
- Downtown overnight window
- 3:30-5:30 a.m., 30-minute cap
- Downtown exception
- Licensed physician on professional calls
- Remedy for 72-hour violation
- Removal under CVC
Summary
Petaluma bars leaving any vehicle on a street or alley for more than 72 consecutive hours without moving it at least half a mile, and separately caps overnight parking in the central traffic district to 30 minutes between 3:30 and 5:30 a.m. Violators can have the vehicle towed under the state Vehicle Code.
11.40.060 Parking on street or alley in excess of seventy-two hours. No person who owns or has possession, custody or control of any vehicle shall park or leave standing such vehicle upon any street or alley for more than seventy-two consecutive hours. For purposes of this section, a vehicle shall be considered to have been parked or left standing for more than seventy-two consecutive hours if it has not been moved at least one-half mile during such period. ... 11.44.110 All night parking. No person shall stop, stand or park a vehicle on any street for a period of time longer than thirty minutes between the hours of three-thirty a.m. and five-thirty a.m. of any day in the central traffic district; provided, that this section shall not apply to a vehicle of any regularly licensed physician when actually engaged in making professional calls.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 2931 NCS, passed July 6, 2026).
Full Breakdown
060 sets the citywide 72-hour rule: no person who owns or controls a vehicle may park or leave it standing on any street or alley for more than 72 consecutive hours, and a vehicle is deemed to have exceeded that limit if it has not moved at least one-half mile during the period. A vehicle in violation may be removed under the requirements of the California Vehicle Code, meaning the city can tow it once the 72-hour threshold is crossed. on any day, though the section carves out an exception for a regularly licensed physician actually making professional calls during that window.
The two rules serve different purposes and apply in different places: the 72-hour rule is a citywide abandonment/storage control enforced everywhere a public street or alley exists, while the 30-minute overnight rule targets the compact downtown core to keep it clear for early-morning street operations. 56.
Violations & Fines
A vehicle left on a street or alley over 72 hours without moving at least half a mile may be cited and is subject to removal under the California Vehicle Code's abandoned-vehicle removal authority. Overnight parking longer than 30 minutes between 3:30 and 5:30 a.m. in the central traffic district is a separate citable violation under § 11.44.110, absent the physician exception.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long can I leave my car parked on a Petaluma street?
Is there an overnight parking curfew in downtown Petaluma?
Does moving my car a few feet reset the 72-hour clock?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Petaluma
How Petaluma compares: Cities with the Strictest Overnight Parking Rules·California rules heatmap·Compare Petaluma to another location·View the California parking rules overview
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Overnight Parking in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Sonoma County handle overnight parking.