Parking rules too strict, RV owners say

Lolita Harper

The first week of enforcement of the city’s more stringent motor

home parking laws has punished violators while sparking renewed

scrutiny from generally “law abiding” rig owners who say the rules

are far too strict.

About 25 citations have been issued so far, with more than half of

them going to vehicles registered outside the city’s boundaries,

Costa Mesa Police Lt. Karl Schuler said.

In July, council members unanimously approved the first draft of a

law that bans the parking of motor homes on public streets, with a

48-hour exception for loading and unloading in front of the owner’s

home. In addition, recreational vehicle owners could apply for an

additional 24 hours -- for a total loading time allowable of 72 --

for emergency repairs or extended trips, Schuler said.

Officials granted a 30-day warning period and waited on delivery

and posting of citywide signs before actively enforcing the new

rules, Schuler said.

Now, the waiting period is over, and owners who illegally use

Costa Mesa streets for recreational vehicle storage are being

targeted.

“It’s going pretty well,” Schuler said. “Just getting the

ordinance passed really helped people start complying with what we

were asking and made them aware of the new restrictions. We are

happy.”

Once a contentious issue -- drawing a rowdy crowd that barraged

council members with hoots and hollers -- recreational vehicle owners

met city officials half way and ironed out a seemingly agreeable

compromise. But some of the details in the current enforcement appear

likely to raise the ire of rig owners who didn’t realize the

unintended effects of such vigorous enforcement.

“I think it has done more harm than good,” said Bill Folsom,

recreational vehicle owner Bill Folsom. “But I am on the RV owners’

side and I don’t mind looking at them.”

Folsom, who helped lead a united fight against increased motor

home restrictions, said he is concerned about the “wrinkles” in the

law that have become apparent as a result of the fervent enforcement

of the past week.

Portions of the ordinance are better in theory than reality, he

added.

For example, Folsom said the city has yet to set up a hotline of

designate an official to handle requests for the 24-hour extension.

That information is according to reports from members of the Costa

Mesa RV Owners Assn., of which Folsom is the vice president.

Folsom said recreational vehicle owners have run into problems

when returning home late at night from a long trip. If there is no

parking available directly in front of their house, they have no

choice but to park somewhere else.

Doing so, however, requires the RV owners to break the law and

open themselves to an expensive ticket, he said.

“We only own our homes, not the whole street,” Folsom said. “We

don’t get to mark where we park.”

Fines for violating the oversized vehicle ordinance start at $100.

It increases to $250 for the second violation and $500 for any after

that, Schuler said.

One motor home owner has amassed more than $1,000 in fines

already, he said.

While the large fines are intended to deter “irresponsible rig

owners” from using public streets for storage, they excessively

punish generally law-abiding residents for seemingly minor

infractions, Folsom said.

“I think it is just a matter of vindictiveness that they raised

the fines so high,” Folsom said.

Some residents are avoiding Costa Mesa altogether by parking their

motor homes elsewhere, such as Newport Beach, which has seen an

increase in the parked vehicles along its border with Costa Mesa,

said Sgt. Steve Shulman of the Newport Beach Police Department.

“We believe it’s probably an overflow from Costa Mesa, probably

people displaced from Costa Mesa looking for permanent places to park

their RVs,” he said.

Newport Beach has time limits for motor home parking as well, and

officers are enforcing them, Shulman said.

Personally, Folsom said he has been financially affected because

of the additional costs to store his rig in an out-of-city facility.

His family, who once used the motor home for frequent trips, has had

to cut back because the vehicle is no longer easily accessible.

“My use has been lessened considerably, and it’s been a drag on my

kids, but we are trying to live with it,” Folsom said.

Igniting the same spirit of compromise that got city officials and

rig owners to agree in the first place, Folsom suggested increased

communication between police and residents about the unexpected snags

in the law’s enforcement.

“I imagine it will take some time to iron all of this out,” Folsom

said. “We plan to go back to the new City Council to seek

modifications that might settle some of the problems.”

What started as a straightforward proposal to ban motor homes on

residential streets turned into a complex process in which the

police, the City Council and the community helped refine the

suggested law.

Since December, the council has considered and then delayed any

action on about four different proposals -- including a placard

system and a citywide ban that only allowed 24 hours for loading and

unloading.

Council members have said they initiated tougher parking

restrictions for motor homes after hearing from numerous residents

that the large vehicles are unsightly and dangerous and that some

owners use the public streets to store their vehicles.

Those residents were often absent from council meetings during

which the topic was discussed, but their views should still be

respected, city leaders argued.

* LOLITA HARPER covers Costa Mesa. She may be reached at (949)

574-4275 or by e-mail at [email protected].