VENTURA : Questions Raised on RV Park Time Limit

Ventura officials said Thursday that they will ask the City Council to decide how long campers may be allowed to stay at the Ventura Beach RV Resort.

Everett Millais, director of community development, said he will request that the council clarify the wording on the park’s operating permit later this month.

The permit does not allow anyone to stay past 30 days, and a camper who leaves cannot return for at least two weeks, city officials said.

But Nancy Hubbard, who owns the park at 800 W. Main St., said her interpretation of the permit is that residents are allowed to stay for 29 days, check out and return in a day or two. If a person stays for 30 days, he must check out and wait two weeks before returning, she said.

Elmer (Tex) Gaddis said he stays for about 29 days, checks out and then goes to Lake Castaic for a few days before returning. “I’m 73 and I plan to live to be 125 and most of it will probably be right here,” he said.

The city became concerned with campers’ length of stay after storms in February flooded the RV park and drowned one homeless man living in the nearby river bottom. About 40 recreational vehicles were damaged or destroyed, and one was washed under the Ventura Freeway and out to sea.

The city is concerned that campers who stay at the RV park for long periods of time will not keep their vehicles in good condition and will not be able to leave quickly in the event of a flood, Millais said.

Dan Mealer, the park’s assistant manager, said no vehicles are allowed into the park unless they are in good condition. All vehicles in the park at the time of the February flood were in good condition, he said. He said the county did not give the park sufficient notice to evacuate.