Watsonville Municipal Code Art. 13 Restricted Use of Certain Streets

(a) No person shall operate any of the following vehicles in the business district between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. of any day:

(1) Any freight vehicle more than eight and one-half (8 1/2') feet in width with load or any freight vehicle so loaded that any part of its load extends more than twenty (20') feet to the front or rear of such vehicle;

(2) Any vehicle carrying building materials which have not been loaded or are not to be unloaded at some point within the business district;

(3) Any freight vehicle with a trailer; or

(4) Any vehicle carrying crude or fuel oil.

(b) The Chief of Police or designee by written permit, may authorize the operation of such vehicles for the purpose of making necessary emergency deliveries to or from points within the business district.

(§ 1, Art. XIII, Ord. 486 N.C.S.; as amended by § 2 (Exh. A), Ord. 1484-26 (CM), eff. March 12, 2026)

No person shall operate or drive any vehicle used for advertising purposes or any advertising vehicle equipped with a sound-amplifying or loud-speaking device upon any street or alley.

(§ 2, Art. XIII, Ord. 486 N.C.S.; as amended by § 3 (Exh. B), Ord. 1484-26 (CM), eff. March 12, 2026)

No person shall drive any animal-drawn vehicle into or within the business district between the hours of 4:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. of any day.

(§ 3, Art. XIII, Ord. 486 N.C.S.)

(a) The streets and parts of streets described in Section 4-5.1608 of Article 16 of this chapter are hereby declared to be truck traffic routes for the movement of commercial vehicles exceeding a maximum gross weight of five (5) tons, and any commercial vehicle exceeding a maximum gross weight of five (5) tons shall be prohibited from using any other street, or parts of streets, in a residential or commercial district, with exceptions as follows:

(1) Any commercial vehicle coming from any unrestricted street having ingress and egress by direct route to and from a restricted street when necessary for the purpose of making pickups and deliveries of goods, wares, and merchandise from or to any building or structure located on the restricted street or for the purpose of delivering materials to be used in the actual and bona file repair, alteration, remodeling, or construction of any building or structure upon the restricted street for which a building permit has previously been obtained;

(2) Any commercial vehicle owned by a public utility or a licensed contractor while necessarily in use in the construction, installation, or repair of any public utility;

(3) Any commercial vehicle traveling along a State highway which is included in the national system of interstate and defense highways; and

(4) Any school bus or transit company bus or commercial vehicle which is subject to the provisions of Sections 1031 through 1036 of the Public Utilities Code of the State regarding passenger stages.

(b) Whenever any ordinance of the City designates and describes any street, or portion thereof, as a street the use of which is permitted by any vehicle exceeding a maximum gross weight limit of five (5) tons, the City Engineer is hereby authorized to designate such streets by appropriate signs as “Truck Routes” for the movement of vehicles exceeding a maximum gross weight limit of five (5) tons.

(c) For the purposes of this section, a “commercial vehicle” shall mean a vehicle of a type used or maintained for the transportation of persons for hire, compensation, or profit or designed, used, or maintained primarily for the transportation of property and shall not mean a passenger vehicle or house car.

(d) For the purposes of this section, the “gross weight” of a commercial vehicle shall mean the manufacturer’s gross vehicle weight rating which is the weight in pounds of the chassis of a truck or truck tractor with lubricants, the radiator full of water, and full fuel tank or tanks, plus the weight of the cab or driver’s compartment, body, special chassis and body equipment, and payload as authorized by the chassis manufacturer. In the event a vehicle is equipped with an identification plate or marker bearing the manufacturer’s name and manufacturer’s gross vehicle weight rating, the rating stated thereon shall be prima facie evidence of the manufacturer’s gross vehicle weight rating.

(§ 4, Art. XIII, Ord. 486 N.C.S., as amended by § 1, Ord. 569-82 C-M, eff. October 28, 1982)

(a) It shall be unlawful to park or stand on any public street, or portion thereof, in a residential district any commercial motor vehicle having a manufacturer’s gross vehicle weight rating of ten thousand (10,000) pounds or more.

(b) It shall be unlawful for a person or business which as part of its business operation maintains and operates a fleet of vehicles comprised of three (3) or more vehicles to use City streets, in lieu of private property, to store or park those vehicles when not in use by the business. Pursuant to this subsection, a vehicle shall not be considered to be in use by the business during those hours of the day when the business is not open to the public, including those hours when the business may only be contacted by a voice mail telephone answering system, a telephone answering service, email or facsimile. Pursuant to this subsection a vehicle shall not be considered to be in use by the business between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. This subsection shall not prohibit a person from parking a single business-owned vehicle on a City street within one (1) block of his or her residence when that person is an employee of the business and the business requires that person to drive a business-owned vehicle to and from that person’s place of employment.

(c) The provisions of this section shall not apply to:

(1) Commercial vehicles making pickups or deliveries of goods, wares, or merchandise from or to any building or structure located on the restricted streets or for the purpose of delivering materials to be used in the actual and bona fide repair, alteration, remodeling, or construction of any building or structure upon the restricted streets for which a building permit has previously been obtained; and

(2) Authorized emergency vehicles as defined by the Vehicle Code of the State or commercial vehicles owned and operated by a public utility company of the City when parked for the purpose of responding to emergency calls; and

(3) “Commercial vehicle,” as the term is used in this section, shall mean a vehicle of a type required to be registered under the California Vehicle Code used or maintained for the transportation of persons for hire, compensation or profit, or designed, used or maintained primarily for the transportation of property. Passenger vehicles which are not used for the transportation of persons for hire, compensation or profit, housecars, and vanpool vehicles are not commercial vehicles.

(§ 1, Ord. 1343-16 (CM), eff. December 29, 2016)

(a) Purpose. The purpose of this section is to reduce the adverse impacts associated with oversized vehicle parking and increase roadway visibility, increase the safety of pedestrians and motorists using public roadways and other public spaces, and to further protect the public health and safety by eliminating the discharge of septic waste, wastewater, garbage, and trash into the City’s storm sewer and sanitary sewer.

(b) Definitions. The following words and terms, as used in this section, shall have the following meanings:

(1) “Oversized vehicle” means a motor vehicle under Vehicle Code Section 670 which also meets one (1) or more of the following criteria: exceeds eight (8') feet in height; or exceeds seven and a half (7 1/2') feet in width; or exceeds twenty-two (22') feet in length; or having a manufacturer’s gross vehicle weight rating of ten thousand (10,000) pounds or more.

(2) “Trailer” means any camping trailer, camper, fifth wheel travel trailer, house car, mobile home, trailer, trailer coach, as defined in Vehicle Code Sections 242, 243, 324, 362, 396, 630, 635, or any recreational vehicle as defined in Health and Safety Code Section 18010.

(c) Parking of Oversized Vehicles Prohibited. Except as provided in subsection (d) of this section, it shall be unlawful to park any oversized vehicle or trailer or combination of oversized vehicle and trailer on any public street, roadway, alley, City owned or maintained parking lot, or other public place. The City Manager or their designee shall place signage on streets sufficient to give adequate notice of this prohibition.

(d) Exemptions. The prohibition in subsection (c) of this section shall not apply to any of the following:

(1) Oversized vehicles actively engaged in loading and unloading deliveries of persons, merchandise, wares, supplies, goods or other materials in the course of construction or other work from or to an adjacent residence or building.

(2) Oversized vehicles that are parked while the operator is actively engaged in performing a service to or on a property on the same City block where the oversized vehicle is parked.

(3) Oversized vehicles involved in an emergency or being repaired under emergency conditions. Emergency parking may be allowed for eight (8) consecutive hours where an oversized vehicle is left parked on a City street because of a mechanical breakdown or because of physical incapacity of the driver or owner.

(4) Oversized vehicles belonging to Federal, State, local authorities, or utility companies or agencies that are parked while the operator of the oversized vehicle is conducting official business.

(5) Oversized vehicles that are wheelchair-accessible or passenger vans parked for the purpose of providing access or transportation services to an individual.

(6) Oversized vehicles and/or trailers owned or operated by vendors for City-permitted special events, issued pursuant to Section 5-12, and parked within the designated special event area.

(7) Oversized vehicles and/or trailers parked on streets exempted from this section by resolution of the City Council.

(8) Recreational vehicles or camping trailers that are parked at Pinto Lake City Park and have paid the daily reservation fees.

(9) Oversized vehicles and/or trailers parked in an area with the zoning designation of Industrial Park or General Industrial owned by a company licensed by the City to tow other vehicles.

(e) Administrative Regulations. The Chief of Police or their designee shall adopt administrative regulations governing the implementation of this section. Said regulations may include notice, vehicle storage, and property inventory policies.

(f) Violations. Violators shall be subject to citation, towing, or both. Any member of the Police Department authorized by the Chief of Police may remove a vehicle that is stopped, standing, or parked in violation of this section from the street or highway in the manner and subject to the requirements of Vehicle Code Section 22650 et seq. Any vehicle parked in violation of the prohibition set forth in this article will be subject to removal at the owner’s expense.

(§ 4 (Exh. C), Ord. 1484-26 (CM), eff. March 12, 2026)