Where and when should you be able to park your recreational vehicle at your own home? In your own yard? Along the city street in front of your house?
Arizona is a popular all-season getaway for RVers. Pictured above Alamo Lake State Park. © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved
In Burbank, California, owning an RV just got a lot harder.
Burbank, California: Owning an oversized vehicle in Burbank just got a lot harder. The City Council adopted a plan that would force drivers of non-commercial vehicles longer than 22 feet or taller than eight feet—which would include most recreational vehicles, trucks with campers or trailers, even raised pickups—to get a daily $5 permit for parking on residential streets or face a $55 citation.
Even those with a permit will be prohibited from parking within 80 feet of any intersection in a residential neighborhood under the new rules.
The ordinance has been almost six years in the making, said traffic engineer Ken Johnson, and began as an effort to address complaints of people living in recreational vehicles and parking them on residential streets—a practice prohibited by state and city law.
Daily permits will be issued for only three consecutive days, but vehicle owners can apply for 96 “permit days” each calendar year.
(Source: Burbank Leader, May 13, 2011)
Brunswick, Ohio: The building and building code committee has drafted legislation amending the city’s ordinance on the parking and storage of recreational vehicles.
The draft legislation will include a definition of every type of recreational vehicle, and will allow driveway parking for vehicles less than 20 feet in length.
The ordinance currently says that vehicles in excess of 30 feet can’t be on the property at all. The new legislation would increase that to 40 feet.
Utah Highway 12 is one of America's most scenic routes. © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved
Other changes to the ordinance include requiring that RVs be parked at least 20 feet from the property right-of-way and as close to the garage as possible, with nothing parked behind or between the RV and the structure.
The new ordinance would require that the RVs be operable, licensed, and owned by the homeowner; have no broken parts, windows or panels; and that the vehicles not be stored on property not owned by the RV owner or used for any purpose other than standard RV activities.
(Brunswick Sun Times/Cleveland.com, May 30, 2011)
St. Albert, Alberta: The city of St. Albert, Alberta, will look to tighten up its bylaws to restrict the use of store parking lots for overnight camping and selling used vehicles.
Mayor Nolan Crouse thinks parking lots like Wal-Mart’s are being transformed into campsites and defacto used car lots.
Most Wal-Mart stores in North America allow overnight parking, according to research conducted by city administration. In some cases, individual stores or municipalities have banned overnight parking. The city hasn’t received any complaints about parking at the St. Albert Wal-Mart, said a background report.
City administration has until Feb. 28, 2012, to bring forward a recommendation.
(Source: St. Albert Gazette)
Sioux City, Iowa: Sioux City is considering when and where residents can park their recreational vehicles. The reason the issue even came up is because of Paul Gorski’s RV. Gorski received a citation this winter for having his motorhome in the driveway. He wanted to keep it at his home, and checked with the city to see how he could do that legally, which led to him appeal his citation.
For great mountain scenery tour the Cherohala Scenic Byway in North Carolina. © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved
The Planning and Zoning Commission is considering a number of options: including exemptions for people who have no access to their backyard.
Right now RV’s and other similar vehicles can only be parked in the front yard of a home during a time of what the city ordinance defined as “normal use.”
But just what is normal use and where can you park your RV? That’s the question that has RV owners, and some of their neighbors up in arms.
(Source: KCAUTV)
Park City, Illinois: The council decided that recreational vehicles, camper trailers, and motorhomes may be parked on a paved driveway or garage in a residential district at any time of year provided they are appropriately screened by fencing or landscaping from the street or from neighbors. The vehicle fee for recreational vehicles will be $30 annually. (Source: Chicago Tribune: May 11, 2011)
Worth Pondering…
In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: It goes on.
—Robert Frost