Bristol, PA Parking Rules: RV & Boat Parking (2026)

Bristol Borough regulates recreational vehicles through two sections of its zoning chapter that work together. Section 27-320, Subsection 7O, covers any vehicle or piece of equipment, self-powered or designed to be pulled or carried, intended primarily for leisure time or recreational use. The list names travel trailers, truck-mounted campers, motor homes, folding tent campers, snowmobiles, minibikes, all-terrain vehicles, go-carts, boats, boat trailers and utility trailers. Use 7O is a by-right accessory use in the R-1 Residential District, and Section 27-320 applies its provisions in every district where the use is permitted. The equipment must sit on the lot and on an impervious surface, either in a driveway along the rear or side of the dwelling, in a garage, or in a roofed structure.

Section 27-702, Subsection 8A, adds the residential district limits. A recreational vehicle or trailer without current license plates cannot be parked or stored in any residential zoning district unless it is inside a completely enclosed accessory building. No commercial or recreational vehicle can encroach on a sidewalk or other area of public right-of-way. On a residential lot in the R-1, R-1A and R-2 Residential Districts, only one recreational vehicle can park, and it cannot occupy more than 9% of the existing lot area. A recreational vehicle parked or stored on a residential lot cannot be used for living, sleeping or housekeeping purposes. The same subsection lets a residential lot in R-1, R-1A, R-2 or R-3 hold one commercial motor vehicle, parked in a visually screened area.

Trailers that are not recreational vehicles fall under Subsection 8C: no licensed or unlicensed trailer can remain on a lot for more than 30 days, with a carve-out for trailers tied to a motor freight terminal in the HI Heavy Industrial District. The Zoning Officer administers and enforces the chapter in Bristol Borough.