Council Bluffs, IA Parking Rules: RV & Boat Parking (2026)

CBMC § 9.32.340 defines a "trailer" broadly as any portable structure on wheels used or maintained for use on the highways or city streets, built to haul, carry, transport or move goods, materials, vehicles, trash, merchandise or people, a definition that reaches boat trailers, camping trailers and similar rigs, while "factory-built structure" is defined by cross-reference to CBMC § 13.18.020. The section makes it unlawful to park, place, keep or maintain a factory-built structure or trailer on any street, alley, highway or other public place, or on any private lot, tract or parcel, except in the manner and under the conditions the code and Iowa Code allow, and it also reaches the property owner, occupant, licensee or lessee who permits it.

A limited exception lets one unoccupied factory-built structure or trailer sit in an accessory private garage or in a rear yard in any zoning district, unless CBMC Title 15 prohibits it, provided no one lives in the unit while it is parked or stored there; a separate exception covers unoccupied units kept on bona fide manufacturer or sales lots for inspection, distribution or sale. Emergency or temporary stopping on a street, alley or highway is allowed for no more than two hours. Any structure or trailer parked or stored in violation is declared a nuisance under CBMC § 8.54, which supplies the penalties, abatement authority and liability rules that apply.

Enforcement runs through peace officers, parking enforcement officers, the building official, the director of public works, the zoning enforcement official, or the director of public health, each acting by criminal or civil process as the section assigns.