Parking Is Limited Twice, in Two Different Places

Section 57-8a-218 limits what a rule may do. Section 57-8a-212 limits what the declaration may do. On parking, the two lists say mostly the same thing, which matters: an association cannot escape the parking limits by moving the restriction from its rules into a declaration amendment.

So the first question is not what the restriction says. It is where the restriction lives, because that tells you which section to read. On parking, they lead to the same answer.

The Driveway Protection and the Seven Vehicles It Does Not Cover

A rule may not restrict an individual from parking an operable vehicle in a driveway where the vehicle has a legal right to park. The declaration may not do so either.

Again, the vehicle must be operable, in a driveway, and already have a legal right to park there. A vehicle that does not run or that sits on a lawn, on cinder blocks, or in a common area is entirely outside this protection.

The protection then excludes seven vehicle categories by name. An association may restrict driveway parking of:

• a commercial vehicle, as defined in Section 72-9-102;
• a motor home, as defined in Section 13-20-2;
• a recreational vehicle trailer, as defined in Section 13-20-2;
• a trailer, as defined in Section 41-1a-102;
• an off-highway vehicle, as defined in Section 41-22-2;
• special mobile equipment, as defined in Section 41-1a-102; and
• a motorboat, as defined in Section 73-18-2.

Section 57-8a-218(20)(a)(i) through (vii). Each of those seven terms is defined by a statute outside the Community Association Act, and the definition controls, not ordinary usage. If your dispute is about an RV, a work truck, or a boat trailer, the definition in the cross-referenced section is where the argument actually happens.

Garage First

A rule may require that an individual park in a garage appurtenant to a dwelling before parking elsewhere. The declaration may impose the same requirement.

This is the provision that resolves most driveway complaints. An association that tells an owner to use the garage before the driveway is doing something the statute expressly permits. The driveway protection in Subsection (20)(a) does not override the garage-first authority in Subsection (20)(b).

Driving, Speed Limits, and Public Streets

A rule may not restrict an individual from operating a noncommercial vehicle in conformance with state traffic laws. But a rule may enforce a reduced speed limit on a private roadway.

The word "private" is the whole boundary. A rule may not impose a requirement or restriction on the use of a public street as defined in Section 10-20-102. The declaration may not either.

So the practical test is ownership of the pavement. On a private roadway inside the project, the association may post and enforce a lower speed limit. On a public street, even one running through the project, the association has no authority to regulate use at all. That is a matter for the city or the county.

This is a common source of confusion in planned communities because many have a mix of both, sometimes on the same loop. Which sections of pavement were dedicated to the municipality is a question the recorded plat answers.

Basketball Standards

A rule may not restrict an individual from installing or keeping a properly maintained basketball standard on the individual's driveway or property, if that driveway or property is privately owned and maintained and abuts a public street. The declaration may not restrict it either. The conditions are cumulative: privately owned and maintained, and abutting a public street. On a lot the owner owns and maintains, fronting a dedicated public street, the protection applies squarely.

The Activity Protection

A rule may not interfere with a reasonable activity of a lot owner within the confines of a dwelling or lot, including backyard landscaping or amenities, so long as the activity complies with local laws and ordinances, including nuisance ordinances.

The association may prohibit such an activity only on a ground listed in Subsection (7)(b) of the act: the activity is not normally associated with a residential project, or it creates monetary costs for the association or other owners, creates a danger to health or safety, generates excessive noise or traffic, creates unsightly conditions visible from outside the dwelling, creates an unreasonable source of annoyance to persons outside the lot, or, where dwellings are attached, creates the potential for smoke to enter another dwelling or the common areas.

This may reach a vehicle kept within the lot, as distinct from a driveway. Note that Subsection (7)(b)(ii)(D) expressly names unsightly conditions visible from outside the dwelling, so the protection is not a shield against every appearance-based rule.

Snow Removal and Road Upkeep: No Statutory Duty

The Community Association Act does not impose a duty on an association to remove snow or to maintain private roads. The act mentions snow removal exactly once, and not as a duty.

Section 57-8a-104(2)(a) treats snow removal as an example of a service contract: a contract for services such as garbage collection, maintenance, lawn care, or snow removal, executed on behalf of the association during the period of administrative control, is binding beyond that period unless the board terminates it after the period ends.

That is a contract-termination rule, not a service standard. It tells a post-turnover board that it may cancel a snow removal contract that the declarant signed. It says nothing about whether snow must be cleared, how fast, or to what standard.

So where does the duty come from? From the declaration, and from the association's general obligation to maintain the common areas. If the roads are common areas and the declaration assigns their upkeep to the association, that is the source of the obligation. There is no statutory snow standard against which to measure the association.

If the roads were dedicated to the city or county, the association has no maintenance duty or authority, and the complaint belongs to the municipality.

Towing

The Community Association Act does not address towing. This does not mean an association may tow at will, nor that it may never tow. It means that any authority comes from the governing documents, and the manner of towing is governed by Utah's general towing and vehicle statutes, which fall outside Title 57. If your vehicle was towed from association property, the governing documents and the applicable general statutes are where the answer lies.

The Limits That Apply to Every Parking Rule

Four general limits apply to every parking rule, and they are often stronger arguments than the specific parking subsections.

1. A rule shall be reasonable. 
2. A rule shall treat similarly situated lot owners similarly, with narrow exceptions for service levels, residential versus non-residential use, and short-term rental guest limits. A parking rule enforced against some owners and not others is vulnerable under this provision even if the rule itself is permitted.
3. A rule may not be inconsistent with the declaration, bylaws, or articles of incorporation.
4. The section applies no matter how old your association is. 

What Is Not Regulated by Statute

The acts are silent on many common parking questions. There is no statutory provision on:

• the number of parking spaces an owner is entitled to;
• guest parking, guest permits, or time limits on guest spaces;
• on-street parking on private roads inside the project;
• snow removal timing or standards; or
• road resurfacing schedules or pavement condition.

Every one of those is a question about governing documents. Read the declaration first, then the recorded plat, which is where the boundary between the lot, common area, and dedicated public street is drawn. That boundary decides most parking and snow disputes before any statute is reached.

One statutory point bears on road funding: paving and resurfacing are long-lived common-area components, so if the roads are association-maintained, they belong in the reserve analysis. Read reserves and reserve analysis for what the association must study and disclose.

If You Have a Parking or Snow Dispute

Start by locating the restriction. If it is in a rule, Section 57-8a-218 controls. If it is in the declaration, Section 57-8a-212 controls. On parking, they reach the same result, so identify which document you are fighting and read the matching section.

Then ask three questions in order. Is the vehicle operable and in a driveway where it has a legal right to park? Is it one of the seven excluded vehicle types? Is there a garage that the rule requires you to use first?

For snow and roads, the questions are different: is the pavement a common area or a dedicated public street, and does the declaration assign its upkeep to the association? On a public street, the association has no authority. In a common area, the declaration sets the duty, because the statute does not.

If a rule was enforced against you and not against a similarly situated neighbor, say so in writing, and cite Section 57-8a-218(1)(a). If the rule contradicts your declaration, cite Subsection (22)(d) as well. For how a rule is enforced and what a fine requires, read fines and hearings. For who maintains what, read maintenance and repair.

Reviewed against Utah Code, current as of September 9, 2026.