CYPRESS : City Gives Initial OK to RV Permit Plan

Recreational vehicle owners will be required to get permits to keep their motor homes on city streets overnight under a new regulation given initial approval by the City Council.

Based on a similar system adopted in neighboring Seal Beach, the plan, adopted in concept by the council last week, mandates that vehicles 22 feet in length or larger must have a permit if they are parked on city streets from 2 to 4 a.m.

The decision comes after months of lengthy and often heated discussions among RV owners, city officials and staff. It originally came before the council in March, 1991, when recreational vehicle owners complained that the previous system, which ticketed motor homes that remained on city streets for more than 72 hours, was unfair.

The group asked for a more lenient warning system that allowed the vehicles to stay on city streets for at least 120 hours.

In an effort to iron out the thorny issue, which often pitted RV owners against their neighbors, the council during the last year consulted the Police Department and Traffic Commission, and even considered putting it on the ballot to let the voters decide.

“It is a very difficult issue, but this City Council has got to deal with it,” said Councilwoman Joyce C. Nicholson, who along with her fellow members expressed impatience over their inability to come up with a quick solution.

During discussions last week, the council concluded that if it was left up to the voters, the majority of whom don’t own the large vehicles, it would be defeated and the problem would remain. Instead, they decided to give the permit system a try.

Based on the Seal Beach plan, the ordinance will require RV owners to get permits from the Police Department. Other details, such as possible fines for noncompliance and costs of the permits, are still in the planning stages, according to city officials.

Although the council gave approval in concept to the permit system, an ordinance still has to be drafted by the city attorney’s office and returned for final consideration. It is expected to be on the books within the next few months.