RV ordinance back into effect Sept. 27

Janine Marnien

Recreational vehicle owners in La Crescenta might get a sense of

deja vu come Sept. 27, when the county once more begins enforcing a

1991 ordinance prohibiting RV parking in frontyards.

Not only could new citations be issued, but old complaints,

received while the county had a moratorium on enforcing the

ordinance, could now also be investigated, said John Gutwein, a

supervising regional planner.

“We would probably go out and reinspect all the old ones, and then

enforce on a case-by-case basis,” he said.

Those found to be out of compliance with the ordinance would

receive a warning and then a series of fines between $100 and $500.

Those who are found to be out of compliance more than three times in

one year could be guilty of a misdemeanor and face prosecution by the

district attorney.

A moratorium was placed on enforcement of the 1991 ordinance in

1999, while county officials and community members debated amendments

to the ordinance. A proposed community standards district was

eventually settled upon, but voted down by the Board of Supervisors

in August.

Al Copping is one RV owner who said his neighbors don’t object to

his RV he keeps parked on his driveway.

“The only neighbor it would affect tells me it doesn’t bother him

at all,” he said. “We still feel that as a property owner we should

have the rights to use our property.”