San Marcos, CA Parking Rules: Overnight Parking (2026)

190 makes it unlawful for any owner, possessor, or person with custody or control of a vehicle to park it on any Public Place, meaning any street or other city-controlled right-of-way, for more than a consecutive 72-hour period. The section closes an obvious loophole: if the vehicle is moved only far enough to restart the clock, specifically within the same one-tenth of a mile or the same block between intersections, whichever distance is less, the code presumes that repositioning is still a single act of parking and the 72-hour count keeps running.

200: once a vehicle has sat on a street more than 72 consecutive hours, any City staff member the City Manager authorizes may have it removed under California Vehicle Code § 22651(k), the state provision governing removal of vehicles stored on a highway beyond the locally set limit. 180's prima facie rule, drawn from Vehicle Code § 40200, when the driver cannot be identified. The section was adopted by Ordinance No. 88-805 in 1989 and carried forward, unchanged in substance, by the 2024 recodification under Ordinance No. 2024-1544. 190's 72-hour rule applies to every vehicle type parked anywhere on a Public Place in the city.