Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Front Yard Parking

A reader writes in: "I received a ticket for parking in my own front yard, clearly completely out of the way of the sidewalk. Is there truly a law against parking in your own yard and how much is the fine?"

The answer is simply: yes, there is a law in Los Angeles that prohibits parking in your own front yard:

SEC. 80.71.3. PARKING IN FRONT YARDS
No person shall park any vehicle in the front yard of any residential property. “Residential property” shall mean any property used for human habitation and shall include, but not be limited to, any property in the “A” or “R” Zones of the City. The front yard shall consist of that area in the front of the property between the adjacent street and any building or structure thereon, exclusive of any area used as a driveway to access a garage or other parking structure.

So, you can park on your driveway's approach to your garage, but not in the yard. And as for that fine:

1st violation: $45
2nd violation within one year of the 1st violation: $70
3rd & subsequent violations within one year of the 1st violation: $120
(And late fees double the fine at each level.)
So, don't park in your front yard!


Photo of what NOT to do by Nicholas Lopez via Flickr.

8 comments:

Don said...

So the U-shaped drives in front of some of the duplexes in my neighborhood aren't legitimate parking spaces? Who do I call to get them ticketed?

LA City Nerd said...

I believe U-shaped driveways are legal to park in because they are driveways; the code gives that exception: "...exclusive of any area used as a driveway to access a garage..."

So, parking in a U-shaped driveway is not illegal.

AVN said...

Good to know! How do we report violations? I can't imagine they'd appreciate 911 calls about this.

Zach Behrens said...

AVN, call 311 and tell them you are reporting a parking violation. They will transfer you to DOT.

Anonymous said...

Are the former "front yards" that have been paved over or have been covered with concrete to create more parking also considered "driveway access"?

What is the legal definition of a front yard?

Anonymous said...

So....I did some research on my own and I'm still thinking that even a paved area that lies between your home and the street is considered the front yard.

Anonymous said...

I believe this is considered a Building and Safety violation vs. a parking violation since it's technically considered private property.

Anonymous said...

So, the aspect of cleaning your car in the front yard, therefore not allowing the soap/oil/etc. to leech directly into the gutter and washed into a stormdrain is TICKETABLE?! That is Council Red Tape at it's finest.