Palm Desert, CA Parking Rules: RV & Boat Parking (2026)

Chapter 8.40 of the Palm Desert Municipal Code controls recreational vehicle parking and storage on private property. Section 8.40.020 defines recreational vehicles to include aircraft, campers, camping trailers, motor homes, off-road vehicles, travel trailers, utility trailers and watercraft, and a boat or aircraft mounted on a trailer counts as one unit. Section 8.40.040 caps a unit at eight feet six inches in width and twelve feet in height, with mirrors projecting no more than one foot per side and roof equipment no more than one foot four inches above the roof.

Section 8.40.050 allows storage in three ways: inside an enclosed building approved by the architectural review commission, or in a rear or side yard, or, in a narrow case, a front yard. In a rear or side yard, a vehicle seven feet high or less goes behind a six-foot opaque screening device. A vehicle from seven to twelve feet must be completely screened, and the zoning administrator mails notice to adjacent owners not less than ten days before deciding. No vehicle may project past the front facade plane of the house, and each must leave a minimum three feet of emergency access. Front and street side yard parking is prohibited unless space is not available in a side or rear yard, and Section 8.40.070 says no front or street side yard exception or permit will be granted.

Section 8.40.060 requires a permit application with a site plan, photographs and dimensions, plus written homeowners association approval where applicable. Permits expire on transfer of ownership, and the vehicle must be parked perpendicular to the public right-of-way without encroaching on it.

Section 8.40.080 offers a temporary permit for up to seventy-two consecutive hours, with one extension of up to seventy-two hours and no more than six permits per property each calendar year, at no fee. Loading, unloading or cleaning within a consecutive twenty-four hour period needs no permit.