Not happy campers

Posted 7/23/15

Ordinance No. 20 was amended on second reading during the City Council’s meeting Monday night so that RVs and campers parked on city streets may be slept in and have no time limits for hose and electrical connections.

But, previously proposed …

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Not happy campers

Posted

City ordinance proposal restricts RV and trailer parking on city streets

There are some unhappy campers over Powell City Council’s proposed ordinance to regulate on-street parking for campers, RVs and trailers.

Ordinance No. 20 was amended on second reading during the City Council’s meeting Monday night so that RVs and campers parked on city streets may be slept in and have no time limits for hose and electrical connections.

But, previously proposed restrictions remain intact — no campers, RVs or trailers parked along city streets for longer than 48 hours except during summer months, and no parking for extended periods in front of other people’s homes.

As an example of the problem, a Powell resident owns five trailers and parks them all along the neighborhood, councilman Josh Shorb said, noting there is nothing the city can do to change it under the current ordinance.

“You are driving down a tunnel,” Shorb said.

The new ordinance must pass a third public reading before it goes into effect, currently set for Jan. 1.

Mayor Don Hillman said he proposed the amendments based on comments and complaints he heard from about 90 percent of the people he talked to about it.

The original two-hour time limit for electrical hookups was changed, since batteries in campers take longer than two hours to charge, Hillman said.

However, the 48-hour parking time limit would remain in effect.

About 25 residents attended the meeting and proposed several changes while discussing the ordinance with the City Council.

We can work it out

Karen Tilley spoke on behalf of the Polecat Ramblers Camping Club and said recreational vehicles are no more of a safety concern than cars or pickups. She also said preventing guests from sleeping in the campers and RVs gave a bad impression.

“We looked at a lot of ordinances and every community has them, and most are stricter than this one,” Hillman said.

Most city ordinances for camper and RV parking have a 24- to 48-hour limit for on-street parking for the entire year, he said. Jackson doesn’t allow it at all, since its streets are narrow. Many streets in Powell aren’t wide enough to accommodate a trailer on both sides and have two trucks drive down the road at the same time, he said.

“They will both lose a set of mirrors,” Hillman said. “Division and Absaroka (streets), then on the avenues, you know what that is like. ... I’ve got three to one people in favor of some kind of a trailer ordinance.”

Several accidents occurred at the intersection of Bernard and Fourth streets and at Cheyenne and Fourth streets, but not always because of campers, Barbara Perrine said.

“People go zipping through there,” Perrine said. “They did not yield at the yield sign.”

She said her camper is stored at Arrowhead RV, but she doubted they had enough space to accommodate everyone.

Perrine showed the City Council a rubber cord cover that she uses when plugging in her camper so that pedestrians don’t trip over the cord.

“That is a good idea; if there is a hose and electrical cord across the sidewalk, it is your liability,” Hillman said.

She pointed out the economic benefits camper maintenance and usage provide for the city.

Tilley argued that storage sites charge rent, and some may not be able to afford it.

Hillman noted that a new camper storage facility is being built west of Powell.

City-owned camping areas do not have electrical hookups, Tilley said, noting she appreciated the amendments to allow longer electrical and hose hookups while on city streets.

“Not everyone is going to agree with everything,” Hillman said. “But, we will try to come up with something.” 

Kaci Dilworth said her camper has been parked near her home on Shoshone Street for several years without a complaint. She told the council she spent the weekend driving down every street in Powell, and the biggest safety issue she saw at intersections was overgrown bushes.

“I feel strongly there is no reason to change the (current) ordinance — the 40-foot rule is logical,” Dilworth said.

The timeframe from Memorial Day through Labor Day cuts out two of the major camping holidays, Tilley said.

Zack Coombs requested the timeframe be amended to April through the end of September.

“One month or less to find places to store isn’t reasonable; you will have overcrowding,” Coombs said.

He also pointed out that similar ordinances passing in other northern Wyoming cities has caused some RV and camper owners to just leave their equipment where it was last used.

“I saw the same campers in the Big Horns in prime spots,” Coombs said. “People are just storing them on the mountain.”

The Big Horn National Forest is addressing “camper squatting,” Shorb said.

Another reason for the ordinance is so street sweepers and snow plows can access the edges of the streets.

“We have lived on Avenue F, and I’ve never seen a plow on the street, ever,” Tilley said.

When vehicles remain in place throughout the winter, they create a blockage in the curb and gutter when snow and ice melt, councilman John Wetzel said. Near the hospital, it can reach 1 to 1 1/2 feet deep, he said.

“If one blocks it, it just keeps going and it is a safety issue,” Wetzel said. “My mom walks through there, and I beg her to go around it.”

Over time, one tire in the gutter can create 6 feet of ice, and campers have been observed as the culprits, Wetzel said.

TJ Edgell said he lives in the area Wetzel was talking about, and that drifts from the wind are a “major problem.” He said he offered to move his camper when city crews were cleaning up the ice and was told they didn’t have time for that.

Enforcement discussed

“We have to do something — we took care of the electrical, and the sleep and the hoses. Is there anything else?” Hillman asked while working with the camper owners at the council meeting.

Tilley questioned how the ordinance would be enforced and what it would cost violators.

Enforcement would be driven by the general public, Hillman said, noting that residents often ask him to talk to their neighbors about this issue, but there is no ordinance against it now.

“‘So and so has had a horse trailer in front of my house for six months, and he won’t move it because it is a public street,’ — but if there is an ordinance, then we can (act),” Hillman said.

As with many city ordinances, violation would be a misdemeanor with a maximum fine of $750.

The penalty for ordinance violations is discretionary, deputy city attorney Scott Kath said. If charged with the violation, a judge would decide how much to fine the offender.

Shorb suggested the City Council work with law enforcement on deciding how strictly the ordinance would be enforced. 

Linda Tritchler questioned how the city would make it known about the ordinance change, and councilman Eric Paul suggested sending out mail.

“I think we need to start somewhere,” Tritchler said. “I understand having a camper is an expense and you need a place to keep it, but there is a civic responsibility to not infringe on the rest of us.”

Paul suggested moving the allowable timeframe for on-street parking to Oct. 1 and then not going into effect until Memorial Day weekend in 2016.

Shorb suggested going into effect on Jan. 1, nearly a half a year’s time, to find a place to store them  off city streets.

A total of four amendments were unanimously approved to Ordinance No. 20 following the discussion on Monday. The ordinance now allows guests to sleep in campers parked on the street and for electrical and hose hookups for longer than two hours. 

The council also decided the ordinance would go into effect on Jan. 1, assuming it passes third reading on Aug. 3.

“This isn’t set in stone, we can amend it again,” Hillman said.

Another parking ordinance

The City Council also addressed another parking issue at its meeting Monday. Parking on city streets in front of properties not owned or rented by the vehicle owner would be limited to 24 hours under Ordinance No. 21, which was unanimously approved on first reading.

Residents with only on-street parking options won’t have to worry about the spot closest to their home being taken up for longer than 24 hours. “It is a good-neighbor policy,” Shorb said.

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