Dear Lt. Nicholas,
A young man continually parks his truck and trailer in front of our house, which has a long curb. The trailer is hitched to the truck and is a two wheel variety that is meant to carry cargo.
The truck and trailer block the curb across from our front door and interferes with deliveries and visits by friends and family.
Aside from being tacky and inconsiderate, is this activity also illegal? If so, is it an infraction at any time or over some period of days?
Thank you for your insights!
Respectfully,
Paul
Hi Paul,
Thanks so much for your question. Seal Beach Municipal Code §8.15.090 states (in part) that “No person shall park any commercial vehicle, truck, trailer or truck-trailer combination that exceeds a width of 80 inches on any street for a period longer than 2 hours.” Furthermore, an oversized vehicle is defined as “a vehicle or combination of vehicles that exceeds 20 feet in length or 90 inches in width exclusive of projecting lights or devices as allowed by Vehicle Code Sections 35109 and 35110.”
Additionally, §8.15.085 states that “ 1. No person shall park or leave standing an oversize vehicle upon any street between 2:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m.” and “2. No person shall park or leave standing upon any street a non-motorized vehicle that has been detached from its motor vehicle.”
A non-motorized vehicle includes “a trailer, camp trailer, semi-trailer or trailer coach.”
If the vehicle is over 20 feet long (the truck and trailer combined), it is illegal. However, the Seal Beach Police Department does issue oversized vehicle permits on a case by case basis. Permits are allowed for “special circumstances” such as if a person is leaving for a camping trip the following morning and they need to load up their gear, or if they have guests coming into town for the weekend. Oversized vehicle permits are temporary in nature and do not allow residents to park their oversized vehicles on city streets permanently.
Our parking enforcement officers are happy to respond to check out the trailer to determine if it is illegally parked. Please call our non-emergency number (562) 594-7232 to report the vehicle. If it is illegally parked, we will either issue a citation or warn the owner of the violation. Thanks again for your question.
Seal Beach, I’m sure you have more questions.
Please email them to me at askacop@sealbeachca.gov.
Thanks!
Nick Nicholas, Operations Bureau Lieutenant; Public Information Officer.
