Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: Stored Cars on private property

It depends. It depends on whether or not the "driveway" is your property. It also depends on where you live, and what ordinances are in effect.

Do you live in a homeowner's association and are subject to CC&R's? Maybe your CC&R's forbid it.

This question is too vague to answer without that information. If you consulted with me, I would certainly ask you those questions, and look in that direction.

Very truly yours,

Re: Stored Cars on private property

The Vehicle Code contains about eight pages of fine print and about thirty to forty separate sections, numbered 22650 through 22711, covering when parked and/or abandoned vehicles can be removed by police, private parties, etc.

There are way too many provisions even in the V.C. to quote all that might apply, but just for starters, a car can be towed from private property if it is not currently registered, appears to be inoperable, has a record of excessive parking tickets, and so on.

In addition, cars can be towed based on local ordinances or CC&Rs. I do not know if Petaluma has such, but I think it is likely.

There are limits, of course; it is still legal to collect antique cars and to repair them in your backyard, but someone would have to compare the specifics of your situation with the fine print of dozens of code provisions to give you a dependable answer.