Jurisdiction and research scope
Clearwater city residential districts and residentially designated downtown property only. Official guide, adopted 9740-24 and §3-916 reviewed October 20, 2026. The guide abbreviates some clauses; special sites and later uncodified actions need confirmation.
Research by Can I Park My RV?Official municipal sources; access limits shown belowEditorial standard
Clearwater RV parking at a glance
| Location or use | What to check |
|---|---|
| Front driveway | Ordinary RV/travel-trailer/motorhome/camping-trailer storage restricted in front setbacks/forward of building line. Official source |
| Side/rear | Qualifying behind-line position, six-foot solid screen and permitted parking surface. Official source |
| Loading/cleaning | Fully complete within 24 hours; maximum two same-location episodes per month. Official source |
| Residential ROW | No ordinary RV/equipment storage; genuine exceptions and traffic rules considered separately. Official source |
| Sleeping | Not permitted at home through storage; approved RV-park route is separate. Official source |
Can an RV stay in a Clearwater front driveway?
Ordinary RV, travel-trailer, motorhome and camping-trailer storage is prohibited in the front setback or forward of the principal building line. A paved driveway does not by itself remove that placement restriction. Ordinance 9740-24 extends the residential controls to residentially designated downtown property and addresses up to two frontages. Its RV line remains in the amendment; it was not struck out. Use the entire unit’s footprint and actual frontage/building line rather than the pavement edge.
What is the side/rear RV-storage route?
The residential clause permits listed equipment in a side or rear setback behind the front building line when screened by a six-foot solid fence, wall or hedge. The City guide also makes the permitted permanent parking surface relevant. A see-through six-foot fence is not a solid screen, and a hedge must provide the required screening. Confirm any corner frontage, required parking, fence permit and access conditions for the specific lot; this section is not a pad-construction approval.
Can I load or clean the RV at the front of the house?
The City guide reproduces a loading, unloading or cleaning exception that must be fully completed within 24 hours and may occur at the same location no more than twice per month. Semitrailer trucks/cabs are excluded. Count the proposed activity as well as earlier episodes at that location. Idle parking before or after a short task does not automatically become loading. Confirm the City’s month boundary if relying on it; this guide does not invent a rolling-period or calendar-reset rule.
Can I move the RV from the driveway to the curb?
Ordinary storage of travel trailers, motorhomes, camping trailers, boats/boat trailers and hauling trailers is barred in residential public rights-of-way and rights-of-way contiguous to covered residential property. A driveway crossing, swale or apron can still be public right-of-way. Only a genuine exception, such as the checked loading/cleaning activity, changes that answer; signs, clear access and other traffic controls continue to matter. Commercial/nonresidential rights-of-way also have separate boat/RV restrictions.
Are the front limits identical for a boat and an RV?
No. The ordinary front restriction separately targets boats longer than 20 feet and boat trailers longer than 25 feet or more than five feet longer than the boat on them. Those are not an RV-length allowance: the RV front restriction is categorical. A boat at the stated dimensions still needs its actual parking location, surface and other conditions checked. Hauling trailers have a different categorical front restriction; empty boat-trailer treatment is left for confirmation in the checker.
Can family sleep in an RV stored behind the fence?
§3-916 prohibits living, sleeping and housekeeping in vehicles except the permitted use of an approved RV park. Screened home storage does not create guest-bedroom permission. Residential repairs must be noncommercial; the clause distinguishes enclosed resident-vehicle work from minor repairs allowed elsewhere on the property. The checker leaves repair classification and utility connections for separate review. Contact Clearwater Code Compliance at 727-562-4720 with the parcel, unit type, activity and any special approval.
Who to contact for your setup
Use the official local source to confirm your parcel and any special approval before relying on a conditional result.
Use the Clearwater parking checker to organize the starting conditions. The checker cannot approve a parcel, a variance or an unverified exception.
Official sources reviewed October 20, 2026
- Clearwater Citizens Guide: parking, loading, surfaces and vehicle use
Full relevant City guide provisions read October 20, 2026; guide says some passages are abbreviated. §3-1407(A) cross-checked against adopted 9740-24; guide supplies 24-hour/twice-monthly loading exception.
- Clearwater Ordinance 9740-24, full residential parking restrictions
Full official second-reading text read; page 2 redline checked. RV front restriction remains, not deleted. February 1, 2024 adoption confirmed by Legistar status Passed.
- 9740-24 adoption record
Official record status Passed, final action February 1, 2024.
- Clearwater §3-916: sleeping, housekeeping and repairs
Full operative vehicle-use clause available as official publisher indexed text October 20, 2026; approved RV-park exception remains separate.
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.
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