Cupertino planning commissioners press staff for data, options on RV and oversized-vehicle parking rules

Cupertino Planning Commission members on Tuesday reviewed a staff-drafted ordinance that would change city rules for parking on public streets, tighten the existing 72-hour limit on parked vehicles and restrict oversized vehicles near residential areas and customer-facing retail.

The ordinance, presented by Floyd Andrews on behalf of city staff, would require a vehicle left on a public street for more than 72 hours to be moved at least 1,500 feet and remain away from the original location for 24 hours before returning. The draft also would prohibit oversized vehicles — described in the draft as typically RVs, trucks and truck-trailer combinations — from parking within 100 feet of residential districts or within 100 feet of customer-facing retail.

The commission’s discussion focused on three themes: whether staff has data showing the current 72-hour rule is inadequately enforced; how to accommodate residents who occasionally need to park RVs or trailers in front of their homes to load or host visitors; and how to close a perceived loophole in which people move a vehicle a short distance every 48 hours to avoid enforcement.

Why it matters: Commissioners said long-term, large-vehicle parking along streets near commercial corridors and neighborhoods creates safety and access concerns and can push encampments or long-term parking into other neighborhoods. Residents and business-area customers raised concerns about sightlines and blocked traffic near the Target/Alves Drive corridor. Commissioners and speakers…