In March 2026, Mountain View, California, is enforcing one of the strictest oversized-vehicle parking bans in the Bay Area, and the fallout is spreading to neighboring cities, East Coast suburbs, and New York City. Local governments across the country are rewriting RV parking codes with a shared goal: fewer recreational vehicles on residential streets. For homeowners who complained about blocked sightlines and trash accumulation, the new rules are a win. For the estimated one million Americans who live in RVs full time, according to the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association, they represent an escalating threat to the only housing they can afford.
The tension is not abstract. In Silicon Valley, RV residents who once parked near tech campuses are being towed or pushed into commercial storage lots. In New York, a city council member has introduced legislation to remove RVs from residential streets entirely. In New Jersey, a township ordinance now targets any vehicle over 25 feet. Taken together, these local actions are turning once-sleepy parking codes into a frontline fight over housing, neighborhood character, and who gets to claim a piece of the public curb.
Silicon Valley’s ban and the cities following its lead
Mountain View’s oversized-vehicle ordinance, which the city council expanded in 2022 and has continued to enforce aggressively, now prohibits RVs and other large vehicles from parking on the vast majority of residential streets. The city’s safe parking program offers a limited number of designated overnight spots as an alternative, but demand far outstrips supply. Residents who once lined Crisanto Avenue and other streets near Google’s campus have been dispersed, many relocating to unincorporated county land or commercial lots that charge monthly fees.
Palo Alto is now weighing similar restrictions. In late 2025, the Palo Alto City Council directed staff to draft an ordinance that would impose strict time limits on oversized vehicles parked on residential streets, according to Palo Alto Online coverage of the council’s policy discussions. Supporters point to complaints about noise, sanitation, and blocked sidewalks. Opponents, including the advocacy group Vehicle Residents of Mountain View, argue that the same tech employers driving the region’s median rent above $3,000 per month depend on a workforce that increasingly cannot afford a traditional apartment. A ban, they say, does not reduce the number of people who need housing. It just forces them to drive to the next jurisdiction…