The City of El Campo city council held an extended discussion on proposed changes to Chapter 12, Article 12.03 (parking) aimed at addressing three recurring complaints: vehicles parked for sale on commercial and multi-tenant properties, oversized commercial vehicles and recreational vehicles parked in residential zones, and vehicles parked on grassy front yards.

Staff said the vehicles-for-sale section was adopted in March 2025 to restrict private car sales at commercial properties unless the property owner obtained a special use permit (SUP), while allowing a single vehicle for sale at residences. Staff reported enforcement challenges: each vehicle can generate a new case, vehicle turnover is rapid (cars may sell before a letter is issued), and property owners must be cited alongside vehicle owners. The council debated whether the SUP process and associated fees are appropriate for small-scale or occasional sellers. One councilmember criticized the SUP cost as burdensome and asked whether the city could instead limit the number of vehicles allowed for sale at a commercial property without requiring an SUP.

On oversized vehicles and trailers, staff noted existing language adopted in 2023 that generally requires RVs, boats and trailers to be parked on the side or in the backyard; they cannot be parked in front of the house. Council members asked for clarity about corner lots and driveways that face a main street: staff said a vehicle parked on the side driveway counts as side yard parking if it is not in front of the house, but the visual effect can still look like a street-front parking situation. Several council members recommended adding trailers and other large towed units to the prohibited list, or using a size or carrying-capacity measure (for example, trailers with more than 1.5-ton carrying capacity) to capture enclosed commercial trailers that currently evade the RV rules.

Council members also discussed parking in lawns and front-yard grassy areas, where no current rule exists. Staff reiterated enforcement capacity limits — code inspectors are managing hundreds of cases at a time — and said a blanket prohibition would be difficult to implement immediately. Council members raised equity and practical concerns: many older houses were built before modern vehicle ownership patterns and may lack paved driveways; requiring homeowners in some neighborhoods to build curb cuts or paved parking could impose financial burdens or increase property valuations. Staff proposed returning with draft ordinances that include visual examples and options from other cities, and the council asked staff to present scenarios (drawings or photos) that illustrate compliant and noncompliant layouts.

Why it matters: the proposed changes touch everyday neighborhood quality, enforcement workload and potential costs for homeowners. Council members expressed a desire to craft rules that are enforceable, fair and sensitive to neighborhood differences, rather than immediately pursuing broad prohibitions that would be hard to enforce or that could create hardship.

Next steps: staff will draft revised ordinance language, collect illustrative examples from comparable cities, and return to the council for further review — ideally with more members present — before the city pursues stricter enforcement.