Planning commission refines draft RV rules: hookups required if occupied 30 days or more

Clallam County planning staff continued the commission's review of proposed revisions to county code governing placement and occupancy of recreational vehicles (RVs), including a new draft section labeled 33.58 that would require hookups and sanitation controls whenever an RV is placed on a parcel for 30 days or more for occupancy or "periodic occupancy." Bruce, Director of Community Development, presented the draft and answered commissioners' questions.

The proposal aims to reduce environmental and public-health risks from unsecured sewage and makes several specific operational requirements for RVs used as temporary residences. The draft would require that an RV maintained for occupancy for 30 or more days: be currently licensed and in working order; be movable within two days' notice; be provided with a stable source of power, potable water and an adequate sewage-disposal method to the satisfaction of the Washington Department of Labor and Industries and the Clallam County Environmental Health Division; and not discharge gray or black water to ground or surface water.

Why it matters: county staff and several commissioners said the update is intended to draw a clear line between recreational, short-term use and longer-term residence to protect septic systems, surface waters and neighbors while avoiding overreach into household behavior. The commission discussed enforcement practicality, how to treat individuals who use RVs seasonally, and whether the draft should encourage more permitted RV parks as an alternative to dispersed, unregulated overnight occupancy.

Most significant details from the draft and the discussion

- Duration trigger. The draft uses 30 days as the threshold: "placement of a recreational vehicle for a duration of 30 days or more for purposes of occupancy or periodic occupancy shall be subject to the following requirements," Bruce told the commission while reading the proposed text. Staff said environmental health favored a 30-day threshold as a workable bright-line that distinguishes routine recreational use from longer-term occupancy.

- Sewage and sanitation. The draft would require an "adequate sewage disposal" arrangement to the satisfaction of Clallam County Environmental Health; staff said the health division may allow limited hardship pumping with receipts and reporting, but no gray or black water may be discharged onto the ground or into surface waters.

- Power definition. Commissioners pressed to define what constitutes a "stable source of power." A member of the commission, Mr. Haskins, asked whether a generator would count; he was told by other commissioners and staff that grid or permanently installed solar plus battery was the intended standard. As Haskins put it during the hearing: "This needs to be grid power." Several commissioners urged the code to explicitly accept grid and properly-sized solar and to forbid makeshift generator hookups that create noise and safety risks.

- Placement limits and critical areas. The draft would require RV placement outside structural setbacks and outside critical-area buffers in accordance with chapter 27.12 (critical areas ordinance) and Title 35.1 (the shoreline master program).

- Unit counts. The draft as presented would allow no more than one RV to be occupied on a parcel and no more than two RVs present on a parcel at any time (exceptions for RV parks were included). Staff said this was intended to limit proliferation while allowing storage or recreational use of a second RV. The earlier hardship exception that the staff had inserted was recommended to be struck to keep the standard enforceable.

- Mobility and enforcement. The draft requires the RV to be "movable within two days' notice," reflecting staff' concern about abandoned and derelict vehicles and the county's need to clear hazardous or public-nuisance situations promptly.

- Enforcement practicalities and intent. Bruce told the commission the county cannot easily determine intent day one and that a bright-line like 30 days makes enforcement practicable: where evidence shows an RV has been occupied part or all of 30 days or more the county could require hookups or cessation of occupancy. He said the aim is to "make a bad situation a little better and not let perfection be the enemy of good." (Director Bruce.)

Points of disagreement or open questions

- Duration alternative. Several commissioners and members of the public raised alternatives to 30 days, including suggestions of 90 days or 180 days, and asked whether the county should prohibit year-round residential use. Staff and others said the Board of County Commissioners is unlikely to ban year-round occupancy but may accept regulations that limit proliferation and require hookups when an RV approximates a residence.

- Count and storage limits. Some commissioners questioned the county's authority to limit how many recreational vehicles a private owner may store on a parcel (the draft's two-RV limit for presence, one for occupancy). Commissioners asked whether storage out of sight (garaged) should be exempt.

- Relationship to RV parks. Multiple commissioners supported encouraging more permitted RV parks as a "containment" strategy: parks provide hookups, regular oversight of septic systems and a single permitted point of contact rather than scattered, complaint-driven enforcement across many private properties.

Public comments and examples

Commissioners and at least one resident described visible examples in the county's rural districts where multiple derelict vehicles, motor homes and trash have created nuisance conditions along highways; those examples were presented as rationale for the proposed limits and stronger sanitation requirements.

Next steps

Staff will revise the draft to address the commission's questions (including clearer definition of "stable power," possible language on storage exemptions and clarifying enforcement mechanics) and return with a revised draft for further discussion; commissioners indicated a willingness to continue the work session on April 16 to refine language and prepare a recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners.

Ending: The commission did not take a final vote on the draft; instead members asked staff for revisions that clarify the power definition, storage exceptions, and enforcement thresholds for occupancy vs. recreational use before forwarding a recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners.