Kingsford Heights council holds first reading of ordinance banning residential use of RVs and tents

Kingsford Heights — The town council held a first reading Sept. 22 of Ordinance No. 2025-010, which would make it unlawful to use recreational vehicles or tents as permanent or temporary residential occupancy within town limits and would bar use of RVs as storage containers, with a penalty of $2,000 per day for violations.

Chair (reading the ordinance) said the measure responds to resident complaints about people living in campers and tents without hookups, and noted concerns about trash and human waste disposal. “It is unlawful to use a recreational vehicle and or tent as a permanent or temporary residential occupancy within town limits,” the chair read aloud during the meeting. The draft includes definitions for “recreational vehicle” and “tent” and a separate part (B) that the council asked staff to revise to permit owners to store their own camping equipment in their vehicles.

Council members discussed how to define “temporary” and whether to include a variance process for emergency situations. One resident asked whether an exception could be written for people displaced by a house fire; council members and staff said a narrowly written exception or an individual variance would be possible, but cautioned it must be carefully drafted to avoid creating an open-ended exemption.

The council moved, seconded and approved the ordinance on its first reading with a sentence added to part B to clarify the storage exception and with a commitment to draft an emergency-variance process before further readings.

If adopted, the ordinance would allow the town to pursue fines and other legal remedies against people using RVs or tents as dwelling units. The measure returns to the council for a second reading and any additional revisions.