Camas adopts new RV rules

Recreational vehicle owners living in or visiting Camas may be surprised by a new law limiting RV and trailer parking, storage and occupancy within the city limits, including on private property.

The new law prohibits RV and trailer parking in city parks, including parking lots, unless there are spaces specifically designated for such vehicles.

Parking campers, motor homes and boat trailers on public streets is now restricted to 24 hours or fewer, and the vehicle cannot be occupied while parked on a public street, meaning guests can’t sleep in an RV parked in front of a home.

Camas City Council members passed the ordinance 6-1 — with Councilor Martin Elzingre casting the sole “no” vote — at the council’s June 16 meeting.

The rules also have changed for private property owners in Camas. Under the new law, which carries penalties of up to $250 for a first offense, RVs and trailers must either be parked in a garage or carport or on a paved or gravel pad — obscured by a 6-foot-tall fence — in a rear or side yard. Parking in a front yard will only be allowed on a driveway, and the vehicle cannot remain in a driveway for more than 72 hours. Properties larger than half an acre that have landscaping blocking the RV or trailer from the view of any adjacent public street will be exempt from the fence requirement.

Occupying an RV on public property is banned outright and has been cut from 10 to five days on private property.

“This allows property owners a reasonable length of time to host guests in an RV on their property,” Camas Community Development Director Alan Peters said.

Skate park concerns

Peters said city attorney Shawn MacPherson drafted the ordinance with assistance from city staff and the Camas Police Department in response to issues with RVs and trailers popping up in city parks and on streets, as well as on private property.

“Obviously, some of the motivation behind it has been the response to camping concerns at the skate park on Third Avenue,” Peters told The Columbian. “We have folks who are living in an RV both on the skate park owned by the city, as well as on adjacent private property … We didn’t have a lot in our code to be able to tell a private property owner that they cannot let someone live in an RV for an extended period of time.”

Camas Police Chief Tina Jones said her department often gets calls from residents concerned about RVs at the city’s Riverside Bowl Skate Park.

“We’ve had a lot of issues down there with sewage getting dumped into the porta-potty. We’ve had RVs break down in the lot that are not in good repair, with people tearing them apart and fluids getting into that critical, sensitive space by the river. It’s not ideal,” Jones said.

The new law gives the police department more teeth to respond to nuisance RV calls, Jones said.

“Our office has been limited in how we can address it,” Jones said. “We’re continuously getting complaints, and neighbors have expressed a lot of frustration and concern about the park not being used for its intended purpose. They’re afraid to have their children go to the park because of some of these issues … and people expect the police to enforce it.”

Now that the new law is in effect, Jones said her department will “strive for education and compliance” before resorting to fines and citations.

“We understand that with new code changes a lot of people aren’t immediately aware,” Jones said. “So we will strive to have an educational opportunity.”

‘Don’t want to be overly restrictive’

Rules governing RV parking and occupancy vary in Washington.

Vancouver, for instance, allows RVs to park on a city street or in a residential area “for a reasonable amount of time while loading and unloading only” and requires a free permit. The city of Washougal prohibits RVs, boats and vehicle trailers from parking or being stored on a public street or highway “except for a reasonable period for loading and unloading.”

During the Camas council’s discussion of the ordinance earlier this month, some councilors worried that the original ordinance — which would have limited parking an RV or trailer in a front driveway for more than 24 hours — was too restrictive.

Councilor Marilyn Boerke said her family often goes camping in an RV but usually needs longer than one day to unload the vehicle and get it ready for storage.

“You have to take everything out, take it to storage,” Boerke said. “I don’t want to be overly restrictive of residents who are just going camping.”

Randy Curtis, the vice president of the Downtown Camas Association board of directors, asked the council to reconsider the private parking limitations.

“About 10 years ago, we drafted regulations and ordinances for our HOA on this very issue … and found that five days was a legitimate time period,” Curtis said.

In the end, the council settled on 72 hours as the limit for parking an RV or trailer in a driveway in the front yard.

Elzingre, who cast the one vote against the ordinance, said he wanted the city to have the ability to respond to RVs parked illegally at places such as the skate park, but he was not sold on the private property restrictions.

“I don’t like the idea of controlling people’s private property,” Elzingre said. “The HOAs take care of that, and I know some people who don’t live in an HOA because they don’t want people telling them what to do.”

Kelly Moyer: 360-735-4674; kelly.moyer@columbian.com