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UPDATE: The City Council voted 6-1, with Polly Christensen dissenting, to approve the new ordinance language with a 48 hour (vs. a 72 hour) grace period. A second reading of the ordinance will still be held. Below is the presentation given to the City Council by Assistant City Manager Shawn Lewis:
Junked & Abandoned Power Presentation
A new ordinance, O-2017-48, is being considered by Longmont City Council in order to address the increasing frequency of RVs, trucks, modified trucks, cars and vans parked city streets that people are living in. People are living in their vehicles in areas all over the city and it has become a concern to residents and neighborhoods. A city staff memo states "The residents complained that RV dwellers have left trash, been disruptive, had unleashed or vicious dogs outside of their vehicles, and/or failed to clean up pet excrement".
One example of a street in Longmont where vehicles are parked and people living in them is Delaware Pl. off of S. Sunset street:
Not everyone lives this way because they have no choice. There's an entire subculture in America of people that have made a conscious choice to live what they say is "a simpler and freer life". A recent New Yorker article profiles a couple in their early 30's who have made just this choice. Many pictures of people who have made this life-choice can be found on Instagram by searching the tag #vanlife. (Please note: this tag may have NSFW photos since it's regularly updated and anyone can use it).
The vans and trucks pictured in this article have been parking on Delaware Pl. for most of the summer and is made up of 100 percent commercial buildings. To the best of our knowledge, the vehicle residents have not caused any issues to date. If this were on a street in a neighborhood full of kids, it's possible that having half a dozen RVs with people living in them would, potentially, be uncomfortable for at least some people.
When people allow their pets to do their business along public streets and indiscriminately discard their garbage, it can upset the residents of the neighborhood. As a result, the proposed guidance for a change to Longmont's parking ordinance is as follows:
1.) Provide a code amendment that clarifies enforcement of the existing ordinance regarding RVs; specifically, that a junked, abandoned or lived-in RV must be relocated from its current location by at least one block (currently, enforcement can only require vehicles to move off the chalk marks that officers place on the tires; RV owners can move their RV
as little as three inches and comply with the current code).
2.) Remove “unattended” from the definition of junked or abandoned vehicle.
3.) Update definitions of RV and trailers to reflect definitions in other parts of City Code.
4.) Provide an allowance that exempts contractor trailers from having to move their trailers
off the street if the contractor trailer is associated with an active work-site.
5.) Provide for a permit process if a homeowner has guests staying in an RV on the street for more than 24 hours. Based on this direction, an interdepartmental team made up of Police, Code Enforcement, Parking Enforcement, City Manager’s Office and City Attorney’s Office has made the following proposed changes to the ordinance regarding junked and abandoned vehicles:
a. Provides a code amendment that requires RVs to move at least 600 feet from their current location (600 feet is a typical block length in the original Chicago Colony plat).
b. Removes “unattended” from the definition of junked or abandoned vehicle.
c. Updates definitions for RVs and trailers to reflect definitions in other parts of City Code.
d. Provides an allowance that exempts contractor trailers from having to move their trailers off the street if the contractor trailer is associated with an active work site for up to 180 days.
e. Creates a permit process for an RV owner to stay on a street for up to seven days. (note: this would most likely be done through a permitting process).
Treating this issue as a homeless issue has gotten other cities in trouble in the past. On June 19th, 2014, a federal appeals court struck down a decade's old law in Los Angles that barred people from living in parked vehicles. In 1983, a ruling by a three judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals included a law that prohibits the use of a vehicle "as living quarters either overnight, day-by-day, or otherwise". The 9th U.S. Circuit Court court said the law was unconstitutional because its ambiguous wording does not make clear what behavior would constitute a violation and "criminalizes innocent behavior".
The city council will review and vote on this at the city council meeting scheduled for Tuesday, August 8th at 7pm.
