Apex, NC Parking Rules: RV & Boat Parking (2026)

Apex regulates recreational vehicle and boat-trailer parking through two layered authorities. First, on private residential lots, UDO Section 8.3.4 (Location - Setbacks) provides: 'Off-street parking or storage of vehicles, travel trailers, or motor homes shall not be permitted within any front or street side setback area, provided that off-street parking may be permitted within that portion of any setback used for driveway access to required off-street parking areas. Storage of mobile homes is not permitted.' This effectively confines RV, camper, and boat-trailer storage on residential lots to the driveway, rear yard, or side yard outside the required street-side setback. UDO Section 8.3.4 also requires off-street parking spaces and driveways to be located at least five (5) feet from any required buffer or Resource Conservation Area, except driveways crossing perpendicularly through buffers. Second, on the public street, NCGS 20-162(a) provides: 'No person shall park a vehicle or permit it to stand, whether attended or unattended, upon a highway in front of a private driveway or within 15 feet in either direction of a fire hydrant or the entrance to a fire station, nor within 25 feet from the intersection of curb lines or if none, then within 15 feet of the intersection of property lines at an intersection of highways.' The Apex Code of Ordinances Chapter 20 (Traffic) implements this state law citywide through Article VIII (Parking). Apex does not maintain a citywide RV-specific street parking ban, but the Traffic Engineering Manager (Sajid Hassan, PE, sajid.hassan@apexnc.org, 919-372-7360) coordinates with Police, Fire, and Public Works to designate specific no-parking zones by ordinance, and residents can request new or additional parking restrictions through the documented request flowchart and form on the Town's Traffic Control & Parking Ordinances page. Where a parked RV or boat trailer is left unattended for an extended period and meets the abandoned-vehicle criteria, Chapter 20, Article III (Abandoned, Junked and Disabled Vehicles) applies; the Apex Police Department uses Form F1313 - Abandoned, Junked and Disabled Vehicle Violation Checklist to document the violation. NCGS 20-137.7 defines an 'abandoned vehicle' as 'a motor vehicle that has remained illegally on private or public property for a period of more than 10 days without the consent of the owner or person in control of the property.' Most Apex subdivisions (the Town has grown rapidly as a Raleigh suburb in Wake County) are governed by HOA covenants that may impose further restrictions on visible RV and boat storage; those restrictions are enforced privately by the HOA, not by the Town.