Camas to revisit new RV, trailer rules

The Camas City Council will reevaluate the ordinance it recently approved that limits recreational vehicle and trailer parking, storage and occupancy, including on private property.

The ordinance, which the council approved 6-1 on June 16, prohibits RV and trailer parking in city parks, including parking lots, unless there are spaces specifically designated for such vehicles. After councilors expressed concerns about the ordinance during their July 16 meeting, they agreed to revisit it during an Aug. 18 workshop.

“I received a lot of feedback, and I think that we would all like to give that more consideration,” Councilor Jennifer Senescu said.

Campers, motor homes and boat trailers can’t be parked on public streets for more than 24 hours. The vehicles cannot be occupied while parked on a public street, meaning guests can’t sleep in an RV parked in front of a home. Under the new law, which carries penalties of up to $250 for a first offense, RVs and trailers must be parked either in a garage or carport or on a paved or gravel pad — and obscured by a 6-foot-tall fence — in a rear or side yard. Parking in a front yard is allowed only on a driveway, and the vehicle cannot remain in a driveway for more than 72 hours.

The ordinance also bans RV occupation on public property and cuts occupation time on private property from 10 to five days.

“It’s really pretty easy,” Camas resident Steve Bauer said during the July 16 meeting. “Just remove the part about parking RVs and trailers on private property, and you keep our police force from turning into an aesthetic enforcement agency.”

Councilors Marilyn Boerke, Tim Hein and Leslie Lewallen expressed remorse over their decision to approve the ordinance, particularly the section pertaining to RV parking on private property.

“I call myself out when I need to be called out,” Boerke said, “and I call myself out because … I wish I would’ve advocated more fiercely for removing that private-property piece, but I did not.”

Lewallen said some councilors “were maybe on vacation and didn’t look at the ordinance.”

“Maybe it’s worthwhile to … have another conversation about it,” she said. “I think it might be prudent to do so.”

Alluding to the council’s June 16 vote, Hein said that actions sometimes have “unintended consequences.”

Camas resident Judy Bauer said the ordinance will negatively impact business owners and horse owners. Many residential lots aren’t big enough to allow residents to park their RV or trailer on the side of their houses, leaving driveways as their only option.

“You are stepping outside the bounds of where I believe the city should be allowed to step when you’re talking about private-property rights,” she said.

Doug Flanagan: 360-735-4669; doug.flanagan@columbian.com