RV parking rules in Bloomington

Bloomington RV parking at a glance

How long can an RV stay on the street?

Section 21.301.13(c)(1) limits RV street parking or storage to 12 hours in any 24-hour period without prior Police approval. Count the whole rolling period; a move or midnight is not a verified reset. Street-specific regulations still apply, and RVs cannot occupy the boulevard portion of the right-of-way.

What makes an RV Class I or Class II?

Class I requires both length under 20 feet and height under six feet under the code’s measurement definition. Class II starts at 20 feet in length or six feet in height. Minor projections have a defined measurement exception. A boat or snow mobile carried on a utility trailer counts with that trailer as one recreational vehicle; the classifications are not simply motorhome versus trailer.

How many can I store at a single-family home?

In R-1 A, R-1 and RS-1 districts, Class I equipment stored inside a building is unlimited under this RV provision. Outdoor Class I and all Class II equipment instead share a limited combination: two Class I and no Class II/Type II, or one Class I with one Class II/Type II. The code also cross-refers to separate trailer quantity limits. Preserve legal parking for two other vehicles and, where a garage exists, a nine-foot-wide legal driveway access/parking area.

What setbacks and screening apply?

The single-family route prohibits RVs greater than 40 feet. Side-yard setback is at least five feet. Rear Class I equipment normally needs five feet from a non-street rear lot line or 30 feet from a street rear line; Class II normally needs 30 feet, with an entirely-between-two-garages exception allowing five feet. Keep at least ten feet from a sidewalk and preserve visibility and a permitted principal use. Where the code defines an RV as readily visible, rear/side and certain front positions need fence or evergreen screening.

Can a large RV sit ahead of the house?

In front or side-street yards, maintain five feet from property lines, ten feet from sidewalks and 20 feet from curb or pavement edge. Equipment more than eight feet ahead of the street-facing dwelling plane triggers extra conditions: no more than 12 feet high and 25 feet long under specified app end age exclusions, no more than 30 feet nearer the street than the principal building, and a conforming or legally nonconforming parking area. Summer-only equipment cannot use that forward position November–March; winter-only equipment cannot use it May–October. The code lists exceptions for loading, guest visits and equipment entirely between two garages. These are not universal RV dimensions.

Can I load or maintain an RV in the driveway?

An RV 40 feet or less may temporarily use the driveway solely for loading, unloading or routine maintenance for up to 72 hours in any seven consecutive days. Major overhaul has a separate definition tied to more than 48 hours of inoperability or removed external parts in 30 days and must occur in a completely enclosed building. Ordinary storage should not be relabelled as loading.

Can guests park or sleep in their RV?

A guest of an occupant may park an RV on the site’s driveway for no more than seven days in any consecutive six months, meeting all other RV standards and avoiding noise, light and odor nuisances. This is permission for the vehicle visit. The all-district rule separately forbids living, sleeping or housekeeping in parked or stored RVs.

Do apartments or other districts use the same rules?

Multifamily districts use their own ownership, hard-surface, screening, excess-parking and principal-use conditions, together with a 40-foot size ceiling. In other districts the general outdoor allowance is only 48 hours unless vehicle sales, repair or another express code permission applies. Do not transfer single-family yard exceptions to those sites.

Who to contact for your setup

For zoning, storage location, screening or the proposed private-property use, contact Bloomington Planning at 952-563-8920 or planning@bloomingtonmn.gov. For street-parking questions and how to request the prior Police approval described above, contact the Police Department at 952-563-4900. Provide the exact location, vehicle dimensions, full stay and earlier parking within the applicable period. A call or request is not approval and does not authorize sleeping.

Contact routes checked November 8, 2026 only. The October 21, 2026 legal review and its stated source and eligibility limits are unchanged.

Use the Bloomington parking checker to organize the starting conditions. The checker cannot approve a parcel, a variance or an unverified exception.

Official sources reviewed October 21, 2026

• Bloomington §21.301.13 — Recreational Vehicles

  Full section read in the current American Legal 2026 S-16 publication. Definitions and the all-district, single-family, multifamily and other-district provisions were reviewed. The section history includes Ordinance 2026-32B, adopted September 28, 2026. Later uncodified amendments have not been certified.

A review date records when we checked these sources. The notes above explain any use of older code editions or limits on access to the full source; an address-specific city determination may still be required. Read our research method.