Proposed RV Parking Ordinance Rejected

Thousand Oaks needs to do something to prevent oversized vehicles from parking on city streets, but a proposed ordinance modeled after a law in Agoura Hills is not the answer, the City Council has decided.

Following complaints from about 20 residents and advocates for recreational vehicle owners, the council voted 4 to 0 to reject the ordinance and come up with a different plan to prevent the vehicles from parking on city streets for more than 72 hours at a time.

Councilwoman Elois Zeanah was absent.

Residents complained that the proposed ordinance was too draconian. It would have allowed RVs and large trucks to park on public streets only in certain instances, such as loading and unloading or for repairs. Owners would have had to pay for permits from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department every time they wanted to park on the street.

“That’s ridiculous,” said 78-year-old Robert McKee, a Thousand Oaks resident for the past 33 years. “What if we go out three or four times a month?”

Council members agreed, saying it punished all large-vehicle owners for the sins of a few.

“While it may work in Agoura, it’s certainly not going to work in Thousand Oaks,” Mayor Andy Fox said.

The ordinance would have prevented vehicles exceeding 25 feet in length, 80 inches in width or 82 inches in height from parking on city streets between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. It would have been enforced on a complaint-only basis, and would have required the city to erect warning signs all over the city.

Currently in Thousand Oaks, such vehicles cannot park on public streets for longer than 72 hours, but the owners can skirt the rule by simply moving the trucks and RV’s a few feet.

Many residents have complained to city leaders about oversized cars parking on city streets, and even those who showed up to protest the ordinance said they were against that kind of prolonged parking.