LAGUNA NIGUEL : Council Approves RV Parking Limits

After a year of complaints from irate residents, the City Council last week approved limits for the parking of recreational vehicles and large commercial vehicles along the city’s streets.

The guidelines allow recreational vehicle parking in front of the owner’s property only three days in a seven-day period, and it bans overnight parking of the vehicles along any public street away from the owner’s property.

The ordinance also prohibits parking large commercial vehicles--those more than 25 feet long or heavier than five tons--along any residential street, unless they are loading or unloading. It forbids overnight parking of those vehicles along non-residential streets.

A group of residents came forward in early 1992 asking for restrictions, their complaints centering on the appearances of the recreational vehicles that for years have been parked all around the city. After examining the issue, city staff also cited the blocking of both traffic lanes and driver sight lines as further reasons to adopt the new policy.

But some owners of recreational vehicles told council members that the new rules unfairly assume their vehicles are unsightly or unsafe. The restrictions, they argued, would force them to seek out expensive and inconvenient storage.

“It would be an additional expense for RV owners, on top of the very high rents in Laguna Niguel,” resident Marianna H. Handler said. “RV owners are not necessarily wealthy people, and for many of us, owning such a vehicle is the only luxury we have.”

The council voted 3 to 2 to approve the restrictions, with Councilwoman Janet Godfrey and Councilman Mark Goodman dissenting. The ordinance will come before the council again next month for final approval.