West Covina Takes First Step to Ban Overnight RV Parking

The recreational vehicle crowd argued its case passionately.

But in the end, a sharply divided City Council this week took the first step toward eliminating that bastion of RV freedom, the overnight, on-street parking space.

By a 3-2 vote Monday, the council directed the city staff to draft an ordinance prohibiting street parking between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. for RVs and other oversized vehicles. The law would apply to trailers and coaches longer than 23 feet, higher than seven feet and wider than eight feet.

The council is expected to vote on the proposed ordinance in January, and it would take effect 30 days after approval.

Under the proposal by Councilwoman Nancy Manners, supported by Mayor Robert Bacon and Mayor Pro Tem Richard Lewis, permits could be obtained for guest RV parking and for loading the vehicles.

“It’s a shame we’re turning into a community of rules,” complained RV owner Fred Romens, who had urged the council not to change the current law, which allows all vehicles to remain on the street for 72 hours without being moved. Only three West Covina neighborhoods have overnight parking restrictions.

“We need to load, wash, safety-check and prepare (the vehicles for trips),” Romens said. “Seventy-two hours is not unreasonable. Now I have to go plead with somebody to get a permit.”

An estimated 5,000 RV owners reside in the city of 94,200, according to city reports. A recent survey of 80% of the city’s streets found 143 RVs parked on them in the daytime, City Engineer Harry Thomas told the council. He said more RVs are probably parked outside at night.

The council held a public hearing in September but was unable to decide what restrictions to impose. So city staff members were asked to prepare an ordinance based on written opinions from each council member.

Since the hearing, about 100 people have written to the city on both sides of the issue, Bacon said.

People in favor of restricting RV parking cite safety and aesthetics. They complain that the huge vehicles create blind spots for motorists backing out of driveways.

Owners of RVs “use our streets for auxiliary storage areas,” complained Pearl Aiassa, who brought the issue to the council’s attention this summer.

Others in favor of restrictions say RVs are ugly.

Romens disagreed. “We’re proud of these vehicles,” he said. “We work so hard to maintain them.” As for safety, he argued: “Our RVs are no more of a hazard than a row of trees.”

Romens called the proposed restrictions “discriminatory and really unnecessary.”

Other RV owners said they fear vandalism if they leave their vehicles at storage facilities.

“I’ve parked in three different lots and have been broken into twice,” said Sue D’Agostino, who in September mailed 800 letters alerting RV owners that the city was considering restrictions.

There is also the matter of cost. A survey conducted by the city showed that renting local storage space for a 30-foot vehicles runs from $500 to $600 a year.

Dr. Irving Rubinstein told the council Monday that his rent for an RV parking spot in Upland has just been hiked from $40 to $70 a month.

The staff proposal presented to the council Monday suggested that the city ban overnight RV parking on a neighborhood-by-neighborhood basis if 75% of the residents petition for a ban.

But Manners introduced the proposal for a citywide ban instead.

“Everybody who drives in the street and comes across these vehicles will have a problem,” she said.

Councilman William Tarozzi, who joined Councilman Bradley McFadden in opposing the ordinance, protested that tighter restrictions would be nearly impossible to enforce. He cited an August memo to the council by Police Chief Craig Meacham.

“We would respond only on complaints, and then as a low priority,” Meacham said in the memo, explaining that manpower is short at night and that maintaining public safety is more urgent.

“I don’t see (the point of) having a law that we don’t have the capability of enforcing,” the chief said Tuesday, although he said he will withhold judgment until he sees the language of the proposed law. Police now investigate violations of the 72-hour parking limit only when complaints are made, he said.

“The 5,000 people who have bought RVs have bought them with the understanding they could park on the streets,” Tarozzi added, calling any restriction “dictatorial and prejudicial.” His motion to table the ordinance died for lack of a second.

A number of other cities have RV parking laws. Of 106 cities that responded to a countywide survey conducted by City Engineer Thomas, 16 restrict RV parking. Seventeen have citywide bans on overnight parking that apply to all vehicles. Seven, including San Gabriel and Claremont, have both restrictions.

The Good Sam Club, which has more than 221,000 RV-owning members in Southern California and more than 750,000 worldwide, has been so concerned about proliferating city restrictions that it distributes manuals advising members about defending parking rights.

“We’re fighting this everywhere,” said Gloria Culligan, activities manager of the Agoura-based group.