Chico Municipal Code Ch. 10.20 Parking - Generally

The provisions of this chapter shall govern the stopping, standing and parking of vehicles on and within any public street, public parking lot, or other public way or place within the city.

(Ord. 2119)

To accomplish the goal of managing the supply of parking, to make it reasonably available when and where most needed, a target occupancy rate of eighty-five percent (85%) is hereby established within parking meter zones.

When necessary, the director shall cause a survey or other method to determine the average occupancy rate for each parking area. Based on this occupancy determination, the director may adjust the parking meter zone hourly rate, time limit, and/or the hours of operation within those limits specified under this title or otherwise established by the city council by resolution or ordinance, and shall provide city council with any other feasible options for managing parking in these areas.

(Ord. 2463 §2; Ord. 2541 §1 (part))

The parking regulations adopted by or pursuant to this chapter shall apply at all times or during the particular times specified in such regulations, except when it is necessary to stop, stand or park a vehicle in order to avoid conflict with other traffic or in compliance with the directions of a police officer or traffic control device.

Any parking regulation adopted by or pursuant to this chapter which imposes a time limit on standing, stopping or parking shall not relieve a person from the duty to observe other and more restrictive provisions of this code or the Vehicle Code prohibiting or limiting the stopping, standing or parking of vehicles in specified places or at specified times.

(Ord. 2119, Ord. 2401; Ord. 2541 §1 (part))

It shall be unlawful for any person to remove, erase, deface, obliterate, alter, or render unusable for the purposes of enforcing the provisions of this title any chalk mark, marker or other device placed on a vehicle or any portion thereof by a city employee for the purpose of measuring the passage of time of a vehicle stopped, standing or parked on any street or parking lot.

(Ord. 2119)

No person shall stop, stand or park a vehicle on any public street or other public property, or on any portion of such street or other property which is designated as a no-parking zone by the city council, the traffic committee, director or fire chief in the manner hereinbefore authorized by this title, provided signs, pavement markings or other devices giving notice of such parking prohibition have been posted or placed at or around the public street or other public property, or portion of the street or property to which the prohibition applies.

(Ord. 2119, Ord. 2364 §110; Ord. 2541 §1 (part))

No person shall stand or park a vehicle on or within a public street or parking lot, including any portion of such street or parking lot within a parking meter zone, in excess of any applicable time limits established by the city council, the traffic committee or director in the manner hereinbefore authorized by this title, provided signs, pavement markings or other devices giving notice of such parking restrictions have been posted or placed at or around the public street, public parking lot or other public property or portion of the street, parking lot or other property to which the restriction applies.

A. On-street parking on a city street. A vehicle will be deemed to have been stopped, parked or left standing for longer than the posted time limit, if it has not been moved out of the block face following the expiration of the posted time limit in a timed parking zone. A "block face" consists of the legal parking spaces on both sides of the street on a block in which the vehicle is parked, bounded by an intersection at each end. A vehicle may not re-park in the same block face sooner than two hours following the expiration of the initial time period.

B. Off-street parking in a city-owned/leased parking lot or structure. A vehicle will be deemed to have been stopped, parked or left standing for longer than the posted time limit, if it has not been moved out of the parking lot or structure following the expiration of the posted time limit in a timed parking zone.

(Ord. 2119, Ord. 2364 §111; Ord. 2541 §1 (part))

No person shall park or stand a vehicle which is more than six feet in height on any portion of a public street where the parking of such vehicles has been prohibited by the city council, traffic committee or the director in the manner hereinbefore authorized by this title, provided signs or other devices giving notice of such parking limitations have been posted or placed at or around the portion of the street to which the limitation applies.

(Ord. 2119, Ord. 2364 §112)

No vehicle other than a police, sheriff, or Highway Patrol vehicle shall be stopped or parked within any portion of a public street designated as a police parking zone and identified as such by adjoining signage.

(Ord. 2202)

Any portion of a public street which adjoins a curb that is painted red is designated as a no-parking zone. No person shall park or stand a vehicle within any portion of a public street which has been designated as a no-parking zone by the city council, traffic committee, the director or the fire chief in the manner hereinbefore authorized by this title and which has been identified as a no-parking zone by an adjoining red curb.

(Ord. 2119, Ord. 2364 §113)

Any portion of a public street which adjoins a curb that is painted red is designated as a red bus zone where the words "Bus Zone" are painted at intervals on top of or along the sides of such curb or where such words are set forth on a sign or signs posted or placed within or next to such zone. No person other than a person operating a bus as part of a public transit system shall stop, stand or park a vehicle within any portion of a public street which has been designated as a red bus zone by the city council, traffic committee or the director in the manner hereinbefore authorized by this title and which has been identified as a bus zone by an adjoining red curb and the signage required by this section.

A person operating a bus as part of a public transit system may stop, stand or park such bus within a red bus zone only for the purpose of loading or unloading passengers or for the purpose of adjusting bus headways.

(Ord. 2119, Ord. 2364 §114)

Any portion of a public street which adjoins a curb that is painted green is designated as a limited-time parking zone. No person shall park a vehicle for a period of time exceeding that indicated on signs or curb markings along any portion of a public street which has been designated as a limited-time parking zone by the city council, traffic committee or director in the manner hereinbefore authorized by this chapter and which has been identified as a limited-time parking zone by an adjoining curb which has been painted green.

(Ord. 2119, Ord. 2364 §115)

Any portion of a public street which adjoins a curb that is painted white is designated as a passenger zone. No person shall park a vehicle for any purpose other than the loading or unloading of passengers or the deposit of mail in an adjacent mailbox within any portion of a public street which has been designated as a passenger loading zone by the city council, traffic committee or the director in the manner hereinbefore authorized by this chapter and which has been identified as a passenger loading zone by an adjoining white curb.

(Ord. 2119, Ord. 2364 §115)

A. Any portion of a public street adjoining a curb which is painted yellow is designated as a yellow loading zone. Except as hereinafter provided by this section, no person shall park or otherwise stop or stand vehicles within any portion of a public street which has been designated as a yellow loading zone by the city council, traffic committee or director in the manner hereinbefore authorized by this title and which has been identified as a loading zone by an adjoining yellow curb.

B. Vehicles may be parked in a yellow loading zone for the following purposes:

1. The operator of any vehicle may park the vehicle in a yellow loading zone for a period of time not exceeding three minutes for the purpose of loading and unloading passengers and personal baggage.

2. The operator of a commercial vehicle and a vehicle engaged in the delivery of the United States mail may park the vehicle in a yellow loading zone for a period of time not exceeding 20 minutes or such shorter period of time as may be designated on the curb marking for the purposes of loading and unloading merchandise and other items or materials, the pickup or delivery of parcel post or express packages and mail, and the delivery of the United States mail.

3. The operator of a noncommercial vehicle used for purposes of loading or unloading merchandise by the owner or proprietor of a business may park such vehicle within a yellow loading zone for such purposes for a period of time not exceeding 20 minutes or such shorter period of time as may be designated on the curb marking if authorized by a loading zone permit issued by the administrative services director. The city council shall, by resolution, establish a fee to be paid by an applicant for a loading zone permit, the type of insignia to be issued by the administrative services director to identify the vehicle for which the permit is issued, the place on the vehicle where the permit is to be affixed and the term of the permit.

(Ord. 2119, Ord. 2364 §117, Ord. 2439 §78)

No person shall park a vehicle in any alley for any purpose other than the loading or unloading of persons or materials in the alley.

(Ord. 2119)

A. No person shall park a vehicle at an angle upon any street except those streets upon which angle parking is specifically permitted. When parked at an angle, a vehicle shall be parked only within the designated angle parking space with the front wheel of the vehicle nearest the curb within six inches of the curb or, in those areas specifically designated for back-in angle parking, with the back wheel nearest to the curb within six inches of such curb.

B. No person shall back a vehicle into an angled parking space in any municipal parking lot, parking structure, or other city-owned property where parking is permitted.

(Ord. 2119; 2219)

No person shall park a vehicle at an angle upon any street in the central traffic district where the vehicle is over 20 feet in length.

(Ord. 2119)

No person shall park on streets abutting or in parking facilities within the municipal center in violation of any parking limitations established for such center.

(Ord. 2119)

No person who owns or has possession, custody or control of any commercial vehicle having a manufacturer’s gross weight rating of 10,000 pounds or more shall park said vehicle in an R-1, R-2, R-3, R-P, RD-1 or RDH residential district of the city between the hours of 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. except where such commercial vehicle:

A. Is engaged in making a pickup or delivery of goods, wares, or merchandise from or to any building or structure located within such district;

B. Is being used in the actual and bona fide repair, alteration, remodeling or construction of any building or structure for which a building permit has previously been obtained within such district; or

C. Is engaged in the construction of subdivision and/or public improvements not requiring a building permit.

(Ord. 2119)

No person shall park a vehicle upon any street for the principal purpose of servicing or repairing such vehicle except when necessitated by an emergency.

(Ord. 2119)

No person shall park a vehicle on a street or within 75 feet of a street for the purpose of displaying such vehicle for sale except where the vehicle is parked on property owned or occupied by a business holding a valid business license and engaged in the retail sale of new and/or used automobiles, or where the vehicle is parked on property containing a dwelling unit used by the vehicle's owner as a residence.

(Ord. 2119)

Any person seeking to park a vehicle in a limited-curb parking space whose vehicle arrives at the parking space prior to any other vehicle and who proceeds beyond the space a distance not to exceed 10 feet for the purpose of backing such vehicle therein shall have the right-of-way over another person driving or attempting to drive their vehicle directly into such limited curb parking space.

(Ord. 2119. Ord. 2268)

A. Definitions. As used in this section, the following words and phrases have the meanings set forth in this section, unless the context in which any such word or phrase is used clearly requires another meaning:

1. “Recreational vehicle” means any of the following:

a. “Travel trailer” means a vehicular portable structure built on a chassis designed to be used as a temporary dwelling for camping, travel, recreational, and vacation uses permanently identified as a travel trailer by the manufacturer;

b. “Camper” means a structure designed primarily to be mounted upon a motor vehicle and with sufficient facilities to render as suitable for use as a temporary dwelling for camping, travel, recreational and vacation purposes.

2. “Vehicle” means the same as defined by California Vehicle Code Section 670, as amended.

B. No person who owns or has possession, custody or control of any vehicle, recreational vehicle, boat, or trailer shall park or store such vehicle, recreational vehicle, boat, or trailer upon any street or public right-of-way for a consecutive period of more than 168 hours (7 days). A partial removal from the parking or storage space occupied, or a complete removal and the immediate return of such vehicle, recreational vehicle, boat, or trailer to such space or any part thereof shall constitute a violation of the 168 hour (7 day) time limit.

C. Pursuant to California Vehicle Code Section 22651(k), as amended, any vehicle, recreational vehicle, boat, or trailer in violation of subsection B, above, may be towed.

(Ord. 2353, Ord. 2401)

Subject to any more restrictive limitations set forth in this title or the Vehicle Code, no vehicle parked in a marked parking space shall be parked other than within the limits of such marked parking space unless the size or shape of such vehicle makes parking within the marked limits of the parking space impossible. However, a marked parking space may be occupied by more than one two-wheel or three-wheel vehicle such as bicycles, motorcycles and motorscooters.

(Ord. 2119)

No person shall stop, stand or park a vehicle within any parkway.

(Ord. 2119)

No person shall park a vehicle having four or more wheels in a parking area designated for two- or three-wheel vehicles.

(Ord. 2119)