Riverside, CA Parking Rules: Preferential Parking Districts (2026)

140(A) lets vehicles displaying a valid preferential parking permit park on streets the City Council designates by resolution without being subject to the otherwise-applicable time limit, but the exemption only takes effect once notice signs or markings are installed, and it never applies to loading zones or streets where parking is flatly prohibited. Subsection B puts the Parking Services Division in charge of issuing permits on application and payment of a Council-set fee to merchants located on, or residents of, a designated street. Single-family lots get up to two transferable guest permits (invalid for vehicles over 6,000 pounds gross weight) plus one resident permit per registered vehicle; businesses get one permit per lot, up to three for a converted-residence business, or a number matching the block's preferential spaces for a single business occupying an entire block face.

Every permit expires June 30 following issuance regardless of purchase date, and is valid only on the specific block of the residence or business, or on both contiguous blocks at a corner location. Subsection C requires the permit to be displayed at all times inside a zone that requires one, and even in zones that combine a posted time limit with permit parking, an unpermitted vehicle can't exceed the posted limit. Subsection D locks a zone in for at least one year before the City will even consider a removal request, and only upon findings of extenuating circumstances. Subsection E excludes multi-unit properties, including apartment complexes, from eligibility for the zone and its permits altogether.