Council Postpones RV Parking Ban

Retreating from its decision to ban daytime curbside RV parking, the City Council has postponed a final decision until January.

Faced with a crowd of about 100 trailer and recreational-vehicle enthusiasts--many of them saying there was no available storage space in the county for their vehicles--the council voted 5 to 1 to postpone a decision. Councilman Jim Friedman was absent.

Council members have said calls about oversized-vehicle parking are among the most frequent complaints.

The Ventura Police Department has received 26 letters and hundreds of phone calls about the issue in the past 18 months, police said.

The ordinance would ban curbside parking between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. The ban would include any vehicle--including trailers, RVs and boats--longer than 25 feet, exceeding 80 inches in width and taller than 82 inches.

The council was swayed, at least for the moment, by RV owners who said that space was scarce or expensive. Several RV owners worried that they might be forced to sell, causing a glut in the market.