National City, CA Parking Rules: RV & Boat Parking (2026)

Section 7.20.140(E) of the National City Municipal Code makes it unlawful to park or store any recreational vehicle or boat trailer on a residential parcel unless it is owned by and registered to an occupant of a legal dwelling unit on the same parcel. On any other parcel, it is unlawful unless the parcel is zoned and licensed for use as a recreational vehicle storage yard or repair facility. Subsection F declares any vehicle parked or stored in violation a public nuisance, subject to abatement and removal under Chapters 1.44 and 11.48, and citations are not issued until twenty-four hours have elapsed after a notice of warning is placed on the vehicle or the property. Subsection C separately bars parking any vehicle, including a recreational vehicle or boat trailer, in the front yard or exterior side yard setbacks of private residential property, or on the parkway or landscape area of the public right-of-way, except in paved areas or driveways specifically designed for parking.

Street parking is tighter. Section 11.32.366(B) bars parking or leaving standing any recreational vehicle on any highway, street, alley, public way or public place, except while actively loading or unloading for a period not to exceed two hours, or with a temporary permit. For this section a recreational vehicle is any vehicle that exceeds twenty feet in length, seven feet in width or eight feet in height, including camp trailers, fifth-wheel travel trailers, house cars, trailer coaches, mobile homes, boats and trailers (jet skis included), dune buggies and off-road vehicles, and trailers used to carry equipment, vehicles or animals. Pickup trucks without campers and passenger vans that exceed the height definition are excluded.

The Director of Community Development or designee issues the street permits to a city resident or property owner. Each permit is valid for no longer than twenty-four hours, only within the same block of the address or on an adjacent street. A holder can obtain no more than three permits at one time for a period of no longer than seventy-two consecutive hours, no more than six permits in any calendar month and no more than seventy-two in any calendar year, with three days between expiration and the next permit. The fee is set by city council resolution.

Occupying a recreational vehicle is limited too. Section 7.20.080 makes it unlawful to occupy one for more than ten consecutive minutes between 2:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. while parked on a street or public or private property, except in a lawfully permitted mobile home park or campground.