Mountain View, CA Parking Rules: RV & Boat Parking (2026)
Key Facts
- Guest RV parking limit
- 72 hours on driveway
- Extension permit
- Up to 30 more days via police chief
- Public street dwelling use
- Never allowed
- Tall-vehicle count limit
- 1 vehicle over 7 ft per unit
- Absolute height cap
- 12 feet (visible area)
Summary
Mountain View bars living in a parked RV, trailer or boat on any street, and limits guest RV parking on a driveway to 72 hours (extendable to 30 days by police permit). No more than one vehicle over 7 feet tall per residence may sit where it is visible from the street.
No vehicle parked or stored in residential areas shall be used or occupied for dwelling purposes, except that one (1) vehicle designed for human habitation may be stored or parked on a driveway in conjunction with a residential use for a period not to exceed seventy-two (72) hours for use by guests. Occupants may apply to the chief of police for a permit to extend the seventy-two (72) hour limitation for an additional fixed period, not to exceed thirty (30) days, on a showing of special circumstances pursuant to guidelines adopted by council resolution. c.No vehicle parked upon any public street shall be occupied or used for dwelling purposes.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 34 Update 4).
Full Breakdown
City Code Sec. 111 regulates "the parking and/or storage of a mobile home, recreational vehicle, camper, utility trailer, boat trailer, car, truck, trailer or other vehicle" at residential properties. Subsection (a) requires that any vehicle parked or stored for more than 72 hours in an area visible from a public street, meaning the entire front yard and any side yard not screened by a 6-foot opaque fence, be owned or leased by the occupants; transient storage of someone else's vehicle isn't allowed. Subsection (b) bars using any parked or stored vehicle in a residential area for dwelling purposes, with one narrow exception: a single vehicle designed for human habitation may sit on a driveway for guests up to 72 hours, and occupants can apply to the chief of police for a permit extending that to as much as 30 additional days on a showing of special circumstances under council-adopted guidelines.
Subsection (c) flatly forbids using any vehicle parked on a public street for dwelling purposes, no exceptions. Height and quantity limits follow: subsection (f) bars parking a vehicle over 7 feet tall diagonally across a driveway in view of the street, subsection (g) caps street-visible parking to one vehicle per residential unit exceeding 7 feet in height, and subsection (h) caps the height of any street-visible parked vehicle at 12 feet to the highest point of its main structure.
Violations & Fines
Storing an unowned vehicle in view of the street past 72 hours, living in a parked RV or trailer (on a driveway past 72 hours without a police extension permit, or ever on a public street), or exceeding the one-vehicle/12-foot height limits violates Sec. 19.111 and is punishable under the general Sec. 1.7 schedule: up to $100 for a first infraction, $200 for a second within a year, and $500 for a third, with a fourth chargeable as a misdemeanor.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Sources & Official References
Other rules in Mountain View
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