Council Should Find Its Resolve

It’s one thing for elected officials to listen to their constituents and act in the public interest. It’s another thing to wilt before a roomful of loud voices.

The Board of Supervisors did the right thing by reaffirming its decision to extend benefits to domestic partners of gay and unmarried county employees despite a withering barrage of criticism, mostly from conservative Christians.

The Ventura City Council was not so resolute when faced with a crowd of recreational-vehicle owners irate about proposed limits on where and when giant RVs could be parked on city streets. The council voted 5 to 1 to postpone action until January.

Storage of long, tall motor homes on narrow streets in residential neighborhoods is among the most frequent complaints to City Hall. After receiving dozens of letters and hundreds of phone calls about the matter, Ventura officials drew up an ordinance that would would ban curbside parking of any vehicle longer than 25 feet--including trailers, RVs and boats--between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. RV owners argued that storage space is scarce or expensive.

Camarillo, Oxnard, Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks have taken action to control this affront to traffic safety and the aesthetics and quality of life in their neighborhoods. Ventura should muster up the nerve to do the same.