Petaluma, CA Parking Rules: Oversized Vehicle Parking (2026)

Sec. 18-3.10 of the Sonoma County Code ('Parking of Oversized Vehicles and Trailers Prohibited') is the County's dedicated oversized-vehicle rule for the unincorporated area. No person may stop, park, or leave standing on any County highway or County right-of-way any oversized vehicle for longer than six consecutive hours, after which it must relocate for a period of at least 72 hours. A vehicle is 'oversized' if, exclusive of fixtures and accessories, it meets or exceeds any one of: 24 feet in length, 90 inches in height, or 96 inches in width. Regardless of those dimensions, the rule also covers buses (Vehicle Code Sec. 233), trailers and semi-trailers including boat trailers and stand-alone boats (Sec. 630), trailer coaches (Sec. 635), and recreational vehicles - motor homes, slide-in campers, travel trailers, fifth-wheel trailers, and camping trailers. The ordinance lists exemptions: oversized vehicles actively making adjacent pickups or deliveries; moving vans or RVs actively loading/unloading next to the served residence or business for up to 48 consecutive hours; permitted, operating food trucks (when not adjacent to residential-zoned property); ambulances and police, fire, and other public-safety vehicles; vehicles under emergency repair for under 24 hours; government vehicles on official business; disability-program vehicles parked at their registered address; and agricultural vehicles and equipment actively supporting commercial farming or ranching. The ordinance carries forward and replaces the County's older Ordinance 2300 restrictions and was adopted in response to complaints about prolonged roadside parking of large vehicles.