Weld County residents can no longer self-quarantine in their recreational vehicles during the COVID-19 pandemic.
County commissioners this week passed a resolution that reinstates the seven-day restriction for camping in an RV. Two previous resolutions — passed in April and again in December — allowed residents to occupy an RV on their property if they needed to use it as COVID-19 quarantine quarters.
Originally, the commissioners set the resolutions to last until the end of the disaster emergency declaration signed in March in response to the pandemic.
“... There are many potential problems with staying in an RV long-term, such as access to potable drinking water and waste disposal,” Weld County Chair Steve Moreno stated in a news release. “It’s in the code as a seven-day restriction to maintain the health and safety of our residents.”
Safety concerns in Longmont led to city council in November banning RVs and sleeper vehicles from public streets and right-of-ways. A majority of the city council voted for the ban after hearing from police and code enforcement officers that more RVs were being abandoned on city streets and RV dwellers were dumping waste from their vehicles into storm drains, contaminating city water supply.
The city’s previous RV ordinance gave RV users 48 hours to move their vehicles from a public right-of-way.
Longmont and Boulder County are spending $456,000 in one-time funds to help fulltime RV dwellers and the county’s homeless find brick-and-mortar housing.
