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Council discusses RV parking limits and UDO changes to curb long-term occupancy
Summary
Council debated a proposed ordinance and UDO amendments to limit recreational-vehicle occupancy on streets, prohibit permanent hookups and clarify storage rules; members asked staff for clearer enforcement language, generator/noise restrictions and guidance on event exemptions.
Council and staff discussed a package of changes aimed at distinguishing storage of recreational vehicles from residential occupancy and addressing complaints about long-term RV habitation on city streets.
Staff (S3) described proposed amendments that would limit occupancy outside licensed campgrounds to five consecutive days in the UDO and would prohibit connecting RVs to plumbing or permanent utilities while parked on residential property. During the council discussion one member summarized the objective as “to address public safety concerns, improve enforcement consistency, and establish clear expectations regarding the use of recreational vehicles.”
Council debate focused on the near-term enforcement standard: whether on-street occupancy should be limited to 24 consecutive hours (current language cited in chapter 69) or extended to 48 hours with prohibitions on hookups, slide-outs and generators. Several members (S6, S4 and S1) expressed concerns about enforcement resources and about possible loopholes if generators or quiet inverter systems were not explicitly addressed.
A range of compromises was discussed: retain a 48-hour on-street occupancy allowance for transient use while banning electrical/plumbing hookups and slide-outs, explicitly prohibit noisy portable generators, and add clear penalty and remediation language for repeat violators. Staff was asked to research how other municipalities define occupancy exemptions for events and to return with model ordinance language and enforcement-cost estimates.
Next steps: staff will draft clarified ordinance language (including explicit generator/noise and slide-out provisions), obtain comparative examples from peer cities, and present a revised draft for referral to planning and zoning or for council consideration.
