Garden Grove, CA Parking Rules: RV & Boat Parking (2026)

Section 9.08.040.170(B) of the Garden Grove Municipal Code governs where parking spaces, including RV, trailer and boat storage, may sit on a residential lot. Paragraph 2 requires that all motor vehicles, trailers, vessels, campers and camper shells be parked or stored on a fully paved surface with approved entrances and exits to the street, so a resident can't just park a travel trailer or boat on a dirt side yard or unimproved lawn. Paragraph 1 generally keeps parking out of required setbacks, but carves out an exception for R-1 single-family lots and any other residential property approved through a site plan, which is how most homeowners fit an RV or boat into a driveway or side yard in the first place.

Move that same recreational vehicle to a public street and a different chapter takes over. Section 10.56.110 defines a recreational vehicle broadly, covering motor homes, travel trailers, vans, truck campers, camping trailers and boats, and requires a City Manager-issued permit before one can be left standing on any public or private street, alley or public property. Residents can get 72-hour oversized-vehicle permits for loading and unloading before or after a trip, but the City caps that at 12 non-consecutive permits per year per residential address, and only one permit per address is valid at a time.

Living in a parked RV is a separate violation. Section 10.56.180 bars using any camper, house car, mobile home, trailer coach or similar vehicle as a dwelling or sleeping quarters on a public street, right-of-way, alley or nonresidential property, with an exception only for mobile homes set on a permanent foundation.