Novato, CA Parking Rules: Street Parking Limits (2026)

Section 18-7 of the Novato Municipal Code collects the City's stopping, standing and parking rules. Under § 18-7.2, no person stops, stands or parks on any parkway, bicycle lane, bicycle path or horse trail. Under § 18-7.3, no person who owns or controls a vehicle or trailer parks it on any street or alley for more than 72 consecutive hours, and § 18-7.4 lets an authorized police department member remove a vehicle left beyond that period as Vehicle Code Section 22651 allows. Under § 18-7.9, parking is prohibited unless an unobstructed distance of not less than six feet is kept to the center line or center of the main traveled portion of the street.

Signs and paint control the rest. Section 18-7.11 prohibits stopping, parking or leaving a vehicle in any manner contrary to authorized signs or curb markings. Section 18-7.12 gives the colors meanings: red is no stopping, standing or parking at any time except as the vehicle code permits; yellow is no stopping, standing or parking between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. except Sunday and holidays other than loading, with passengers limited to three minutes and freight to one hour; white allows passenger loading or mail deposit for three minutes; green is a time limit set by the city traffic engineer; blue is for vehicles with a special license or placard under the California Vehicle Code.

Positioning rules apply too. A vehicle on grade over three percent in a business or residence district needs wheels blocked and the brake set (§ 18-7.6). On one-way streets, a vehicle can park within 18 inches of the left-hand curb facing traffic, and on a divided highway no one parks on the left side of a one-way roadway unless signs permit it (§ 18-7.7). Vehicles over 20 feet in length cannot park diagonally or perpendicularly (§ 18-7.8). Marked spaces mean one vehicle per space (§ 18-7.14), and alleys allow only loading or unloading of persons or freight (§ 18-7.18).

At night, § 18-7.19 limits vehicles over 24 feet in length or 96 inches in width to 30 minutes between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. on streets in or next to residentially zoned areas, with a house guest allowance of 14 days for a house car or camper. Recreational vehicles are barred from public streets under § 18-7.22 unless the chief of police issues a temporary permit or a breakdown repair lasts 24 hours or less. The council can create resident permit parking by resolution under § 18-7.21.