The City Council voted 7-0 on a proposal to ban overnight parking of oversize vehicles in beach communities and parts of Bay Park Tuesday, Jan. 29.
After years of complaining about the lack of parking due to motor homes basically camping on city streets near the beach, especially during the summer, beach-area residents mobilized to voice their support of an ordinance at the council meeting.
After passing the measure, council agreed to ask the mayor’s office to return in 60 days with a study of the costs of signage, enforcement, permit fees, potential funding sources and preferred alternatives for the pilot program in coastal communities, District 2 Councilman Kevin Faulconer said.
“We have a particular problem in the beach areas where you have people who are illegally parking for an extended period of time,” he said. “So we’re hoping to develop an ordinance that’s fair and that works.”
The proposed ordinance would prevent vehicles more than 22 feet long and 7 feet high from parking between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. in coastal communities of La Jolla, Pacific Beach, Mission Beach and the peninsula, along with Clairemont and Linda Vista, according to a draft of the ordinance.
It would also prevent parking just east of the Interstate 5 near Tecolote Canyon along Morena Boulevard, Faulconer said. The ordinance would also prohibit detached trailers and “toy box” vehicles ” used to tow boats, personal watercraft, dirt bikes and other vehicles ” from parking on city streets overnight.
The legislation would allow residents to purchase a 72-hour permit so long as the vehicle stays parked within 150 feet of the owner’s residence. However, no more than 24 permits would be issued to an individual during one year, according to the draft ordinance.
While the council asked the mayor’s office to come back with more details about the program, several community members have already called for the immediate adoption of the program, Faulconer said.
Lou Cumming, Pacific Beach Town Council member and 36-year resident, said he’s fed up with large RVs and trailers turning city streets into a campground. He said many owners of the oversize vehicles actually live in them and just move to a different spot every couple of days, skirting city regulations.
“You can move it around the block and you are in compliance with the [municipal] code, but you have to look at that visual pollution,” Cumming said.
Cumming said he has seen some of the vehicle owners emptying their septic tanks into sewers and streets.
Cumming added that a lack of affordable parking spaces available for oversize trailers and storage is one reason they wind up on city streets.
Faulconer said that the city council would consider the availability of affordable parking and storage around the city as they develop the program.
Other residents said oversize vehicles have been a major problem in parts of Ocean Beach near Dog Beach for years.
Trailers and oversized vehicles left unattended also pose a driving hazard because they don’t have reflectors or other lights to warn oncoming traffic, said Jim Musgrove, Ocean Beach Town Council president.
“On any given day on Valeta Street alone there’s at least a dozen of them,” he said.
While the city tows vehicles and trailers left abandoned for several days, so many of these violations occur throughout the city that it’s overwhelming code enforcement, Traffic Division Police Sgt. Bill Davis said.
Davis said that during the last year police have received more than 31,000 calls related to complaints about illegally parked vehicles. About 80 percent of those ” an estimated 26,000 calls ” are related to oversize vehicles, he said.
However, with eight code-enforcement officers and one sergeant responsible for handling complaints, there may not be enough time or resources to handle every call within 72 hours. By the time officers get to the vehicle for the second or third time, it’s been moved and the 72-hour time limit reset, he said.
Davis said hiring more officers would help the problem but wouldn’t solve it.
“Can you legislate common decency?” he said. “You can’t do that, [but] anytime you throw more resources at the problem you’ll have a better result.”
The City Council plans to revisit the ordinance in 60 days with recommendations from the city on how to implement the program.
Faulconer said it’s too early to give an exact timeline as to when the ordinance would take effect. Restrictions on oversize vehicles are not effective until signs have been posted, according to language in the draft ordinance.
The California Coastal Commission must also approve the ordinance before it takes effect, Faulconer said.
To contact Faulconer, call (619) 236-6622.