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Pryor Creek committee tweaks camping ordinance language to permit short backyard family camping, sends amendment to council
Summary
The committee agreed to remove "park areas" language, explicitly allow tents in private backyards for family activities for up to three overnights, and to duplicate that exception into the related section; it voted to forward the edited ordinance (7-4-4) to counsel and then to the full council.
The Pryor Creek ordinance committee reviewed a proposed amendment to ordinance 7'4'4 that would broaden the city's prohibition on overnight camping from "parks and public areas" to the city limits while adding limited exceptions.
Speaker 2 read the draft changes to the committee and said the amendment would treat "the erection of a tent in the backyard of a private residential property for the purposes of family activities for up to 3 overnights" as "not considered a breach of this section." Members noted a discrepancy between the agenda (which said "1 overnight period") and the draft ("up to 3 overnights"); Speaker 5 and others recommended using three nights in the ordinance text.
Members discussed the waiver and enforcement provisions. Speaker 6 explained that the "foregoing prohibition and penalty may be waived by the mayor and city council in favor of any organized group or association for such time as specified not to exceed 5 days and nights consecutively," and said the change is intended to allow organized events (for example, scout troops or touring events) while preventing long'term encampments or nuisance situations. The committee emphasized the city's intent to preserve sanitation and public'safety authority when people are camping for extended periods.
The committee examined potential overlap with existing code governing recreational vehicles and trailers (references to a trailer/RV section that limits temporary occupancy, including a seven'day rule in one section cited during discussion). Members agreed not to duplicate RV restrictions and to reference the trailer/RV code where appropriate, while ensuring tent language clearly covers backyard tenting.
To address enforcement concerns, members agreed to remove the phrase "park areas of" so the presumptive evidence clause reads that erecting a tent or stopping a trailer "in the city shall constitute presumptive evidence of the breach of this section." They also agreed to duplicate the backyard-family exception in both sections (A and B) to reduce enforcement confusion. The committee amended its motion to include these drafting changes and voted to send the revised language to counsel and forward it to the full council for readings and final action.
Next steps: the committee will send the revised draft to counsel for final drafting and place the item on a future council agenda for readings and a decision.
