California town parking ordinance singles out RVs

Blythe, California city council members are mulling over a proposal to restrict RV parking on the town streets. Blythe lies in close proximity to the snowbird "Mecca" of Quartzsite, Arizona--just 20 miles to the east. Some have noted an oddity in the proposed ordinance: Purportedly written with public safety in mind, the law would single out RVs while other vehicles would seem to create similar safety hazards.

The brain-child of town mayor, Oscar Galvan, the law if passed would limit the parking of recreational vehicles on the street to just two days. The proposed law declares its purpose to be of a benevolent nature: "WHEREAS safety issues, such as sight distance from driveways and intersections, result when such vehicles are parked on public streets or rights-of-way in the City."

Granted, when a large vehicle is parked on the street next to a driveway, the line-of-sight when looking out for traffic can be obstructed. However something that has nothing to do with safety also pops up: "WHEREAS, the parking and/or storage of recreational vehicles and trailers causes visual blight in the City."

A close reading of the ordinance reveals the only vehicles which come under the two-day parking restriction are these, defined under California law: "A motor home, travel trailer, truck camper, or camping trailer, with or without motive power, designed for human habitation for recreational, emergency, or other occupancy." Nowhere in the proposed rule are there limits to how long boat or utility trailers may be parked on the streets of Blythe.

A drive through the town streets does reveal a large number of boat trailers, many of which are loaded up with large pontoon-style boats. These large (and popular) rigs likewise tend to restrict the line-of-sight of drivers and pedestrians. Just how much "visual blight" either boats or RVs create is in the eye of the beholder. Evidently in the eye of Blythe's mayor, RVs must be ugly.

Should the ordinance pass, park your RV on the streets of Blythe in excess of 48 hours and find yourself guilty of a misdemeanor, subject to a citation, and the vanishing of your RV by towing. The first reading of the proposed ordinance will be this week.

City backs off on RV living ban

Williston, North Dakota city fathers have a problem: Too much of a good thing. Williston has become a boom town, complete with thousands of workers who need a place to hang up their boots at night. For many of them, the boot rack is in an RV, and the town council decided too many RVs were too much of a good thing: City commissioners proposed make living in an RV in Williston a crime.

The town fathers didn't plan on the backlash they received. In a recent council meeting, crowds begged the commissioners to send their plan packing and leave the RVers alone. One representative from a convenience store chain says over 70 percent of their employees live in RVs. In 45 minutes of testimony, only two people supported the RV-living ban--a woman who said a "man camp" in her neighborhood made her afraid to let the children outside, and an apartment complex manager who was tired of running RVs off her lot.

Estimates say Williston hosts some three to four hundred full-time RVers. The 2010 census said Williston had some 15,000 residents, but with the boom, figures are hard to come by.

Commissioners asked for a show of hands of those attending the meeting who opposed the proposed ban and a majority flagged the measure down. Taking an official, wait-and-see stance, city fathers then moved to open a 30-day written comment period on the proposal that would force RVers to live in RV parks or get out of Dodge.

photo: lindsey gee on flickr.com

Bill would jack diesel prices, cut big truck costs

Got a diesel loving RV or tow vehicle? Hold on to your wallets, Congress is in session. A bipartisan proposal floated in Washington would jack the tax on diesel by six cents, while cutting taxes on big commercial trucks.

Representatives Jim Gelach (R-Penn) and Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore) have sponsored a bill that would tack on an additional 6.3 cents in federal road taxes for each gallon of diesel sold. On the other side of the bill, when trucking firms would see a 12 percent federal excise tax go away. Not surprisingly, American trucking interests are lauding the bill.

Quoted in a story by TruckNews.com, trucking industry representative Bill Graves says, "The proposal by Congressmen Gerlach and Blumenauer would not only reinforce the ailing Highway Trust Fund, but would provide a boost to US manufacturing and speed adoption of environmentally friendly technologies. It is exactly the kind of pro-growth, deficit-trimming legislation that lawmakers should be looking at as they seek to address our nation’s economic woes."

While American trucking firms may think the measure a good trade-off, others aren't so keen. Canadian trucking firms would see the price hike in fuel but no payoff in excise tax. And of course, recreational vehicle users will see no cut in their taxes either.

In simple math, a typical motorhome owner who gets eight-mile-per-gallon and puts 7,000 miles on his odometer will pay $55 more for his road tripping. On the other hand. the average truck purchase would see a cost saving of $15,000 if the bill passes.

RV resort "pool-mageddon" gets two month reprieve

In a move that has left many RV park owners breathing a sigh of relief, the US Department of Justice issued a 60-day hold on a rule that would have made RV parks and other facilities with swimming pools install ramps or wheelchair lifts to make access for the disabled much easier.

Dubbed "pool-mageddon" by those who opposed the expanded rules under the Americans With Disabilities Act, publicly accessible pools and spas would have been required to added access ramps or lifts to aid disabled people. Many RV park owners had understood that portable lifts, which could be stored away when not in use, would have been acceptable under the mandate. However, just before the new law would have swung into place, questions popped up that caused some to worry that the lifts would have had to have been permanently placed.

The problem, said many resort owners, was a vision of unsupervised children climbing on the lifts, possibly falling off them and into the water, or perhaps worse, onto unyielding concrete pool decks. Many RV park owners said the specter of liability issues would force them to simply close their pools down rather than to comply with the new law.

Late in March, the Obama administration granted a 60-day reprieve, suggesting it might even float a six month moratorium on the law, allowing time for the government and pool owners to sort out the issues.

photo: opemed on flickr.com