Planning commission recommends council refine RV‑parking dates in Ordinance 55‑2025, keeps 'least noticeable' standard

The Macedonia Planning Commission reviewed Ordinance 55‑2025, which would add or clarify rules for parking recreational vehicles on residential property. The commission recommended that City Council consider refining the seasonal dates in the draft ordinance while keeping the ordinance’s general approach that RVs must be parked in the "most practical and least noticeable" location on the property when not permitted to be visible from the street.

Under the draft ordinance language presented to the commission, a recreational vehicle may be parked in a visible location on a premises otherwise permitted by code from May 1 through Sept. 30; between Oct. 1 and April 30 the draft requires RVs to be parked “in a manner least noticeable from the street.” The draft also prohibits permanent utility connections (electric, water, gas) to an RV parked on a residential property and includes language to discourage use of RVs as permanent living quarters.

Commission discussion centered on three topics: whether the seasonal window should be extended (several commissioners suggested considering Oct. 31 to accommodate travel schedules), how the vague “least noticeable” standard would be interpreted on large, private lots not visible from the street, and enforcement practicality. Several commissioners recommended staff obtain model ordinances used by nearby communities and for legal staff to draft clearer, less‑ambiguous language where feasible. A motion to forward a recommendation back to council asking it to reconsider the date range passed on a voice vote; commissioners otherwise indicated they were comfortable with the draft’s prohibitions on permanent hookups and use as living quarters.

Planning staff noted that council originally referred the ordinance on Sept. 25 and that the commission’s recommendation is intended to provide implementation feedback before council proceeds further.