Baytown, TX Parking Rules: RV & Boat Parking (2026)

City Code Sec. 94-189 was adopted to preserve neighborhood property values and aesthetics, protect underground utilities, and prevent fuel or chemical contamination from vehicles sitting on unpaved ground. The rule applies only to improved single-family or duplex lots and covers three vehicle classes: motor vehicles, non-motorized vehicles (trailers), and "recreational vehicles," a term the section expressly defines to include not just RVs as defined in Sec. 58-1, but also all-terrain vehicles, golf carts, boats and personal watercraft. Under subsection (c), it is unlawful to cause, suffer, or permit any of these to be parked, stood, or stored in the front yard, which the ordinance defines broadly as the area between the front property line and the residence's front wall (or, for corner lots, both street-facing sides).

The one way to comply is the exception in subsection (d): every wheel of the vehicle, trailer, or RV must rest on an improved surface, meaning concrete, brick, pavers, asphalt, or an equivalent material the chief building official approved before installation; gravel or crushed stone only counts if it was already in place before March 23, 2008. That improved surface itself is capped: it cannot exceed 25 feet in width at any point, or 50 percent of the lot's average width, whichever figure is larger, so a homeowner cannot pave over the whole yard to park an RV or boat.

A separate defense exists if the lot already carries the maximum lot coverage allowed under the ULDC and the curbside street parking near the lot cannot absorb the vehicles typically parked in the area. Enforcement authority is split among the police department, the health department, and the planning and development services department, and ownership of the vehicle is treated as prima facie proof that the owner parked it there, though the owner may rebut that presumption with evidence. The ordinance traces to Ord. No. 10,853 (March 13, 2008) and was amended by Ord. No. 13,134 (February 25, 2016).