Jurisdiction and research scope
City of Erie, Pennsylvania only, not Erie County, Millcreek Township or Erie, Colorado. This guide addresses §205.12 storage in R zoning districts. Other districts, streets, loading and special approvals require separate confirmation.
Research by Can I Park My RV?Official municipal sources; access limits shown belowEditorial standard
Erie RV parking at a glance
| Location or use | What to check |
|---|---|
| Driveway / yard | In R districts: one listed item total, behind the principal structure and at least three feet from property lines. |
| Street / loading | Street parking and loading permission are not established by the residential storage section. |
| Sleeping / utilities | Living quarters are prohibited outside properly zoned RV/mobile-home parks. Utility approval is separate. |
Residential storage placement
Section 205.12 permits no more than one item from its combined list: house trailer, travel trailer, recreational vehicle, camper trailer, utility trailer, boat trailer or boat. Count all listed items, not one of each. In an R district the stored item must be behind the principal structure and at least three feet from the property line. A vacant lot cannot satisfy the principal-structure condition. The provision does not say that a garage or screening waives these limits, so enclosed arrangements need separate confirmation.
Sleeping and utility connections
The same section says none of the listed items may be used as living quarters except in properly zoned RV/mobile-home parks. A home-lot storage location is not a guest accommodation or dwelling approval. This guide conservatively directs any sleeping proposal to the City for confirmation rather than creating a guest-night exception. Utility hookups, maintenance and installation work need separate approval; a storage allowance does not authorize them.
Streets, loading and district scope
The three-foot setback and one-item limit are residential storage rules, not a street-parking entitlement or a loading grace period. Ask the City about the actual street, signs, traffic restrictions and any proposed loading activity. Confirm the R zoning designation before using this storage route; waterfront and commercial districts are not silently included. Existing nonconforming arrangements, variances, approved parks and private restrictions require their own review.
Who to contact for your setup
Ask Erie Planning and Zoning to confirm the parcel, district, vehicle class, storage count and position. Ask the road authority separately about street parking and loading. Obtain any needed utility approvals before connecting services.
Use the Erie parking checker to organize the starting conditions. The checker cannot approve a parcel, a variance or an unverified exception.
Official sources reviewed November 6, 2026
- Erie zoning §205.12
Current official codification, read November 6, 2026. Article heading records Ordinance 80-2005 as amended through 15-2023.
- Erie Ordinance 45-2026
Adopted and approved August 19, 2026; linked amendment concerns historic designation of 1013–1015 State Street, not the RV storage text.
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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