HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-07-2012 ac smith 2 ph3Goodwin, Heathe r
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RECEIVE D
NOV 05201 2
SLO CITY CLER K
Lichtig, Kati e
Monday, November 05, 2012 4 :26 P M
'ke6hng@att .net'; Marx, Jan ; Ashbaugh, John ; Carter, Andrew; Smith, Kathy ; Carpenter ,
Da n
Grimes, Maeve; Goodwin, Heather ; Mattingly, Carrie; Johnson, Derek; Gesell, Steve ;
Hudson, Jake; Storton, Keith ; Codron, Michae l
RE : Agenda Item #PH3 : OVER SIZED VEHICLE AND UNATTACHED TRAILER PARKIN G
REGULATION S
I will ensure this correspondence is added to the public record and distributed appropriately .
AGENDA
CORRESPONDENC E
Date "PI /a Item#PH3
Dear Mayor Marx and Council Members :
After reading staff's report, it was very surprising and disappointing to discover that no t
a single SLO City neighborhood group had been given the opportunity to participate i n
the stakeholder process regarding this issue . While RQN was mentioned as being a
stakeholder, they, in fact, were not given an opportunity to have input prior to Staff's
recommendations for this ordinance . It also appears that none of the organize d
neighborhoods in our city, such as Alta Vista Neighborhood, Laguna Neighbors ,
Neighborhoods North of Foothill, San Luis Drive Association, or Old Town Neighborhoo d
Association, were included either . According to Staff's report, the REG Propert y
Management group was the only group consulted that is even remotely connected t o
neighborhoods . This group represents clients who may not even live in SLO and, a s
reported, most of their clients are not concerned about this problem because they hav e
homeowner's associations with strict CC & Rs . Since this is a very important quality o f
life and safety issue in many neighborhoods, I believe the discussion of this matte r
should be continued to allow for meaningful input from neighborhood groups a s
mentioned above .
I attended the workshop on September 1 1 th at the Library . It was a very confusing an d
frustrating workshop because, unfortunately, this issue was being intertwined with th e
situation of homeless individuals living and sleeping in their vehicles on our city streets .
Katie E . Lichti g
City Manage r
City of San Luis Obispo, C A
990 Palm Street
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-324 9
805-781-711 4
wwwslocity .orc~_____~_
From :Carolyn [mailto :ke6hng@att .net]
Sent :Monday, November 05, 2012 4 :16 P M
To :Marx, Jan ; Ashbaugh, John ; Carter, Andrew ; Smith, Kathy ; Carpenter, Da n
Cc :Lichtig, Kati e
Subject :RE : Agenda Item #PH3 : OVER SIZED VEHICLE AND UNATTACHED TRAILER PARKING REGULATION S
t
These are two very different problems and should be treated as such .For many years ,
residents have been pleading for a solution to the problem of the storage of unoccupie d
motor homes, unattached recreational vehicles such as boats, jet skis, and dun e
buggies, commercial trailers and trucks, and other large vehicles parked in ou r
residential streets . We need to find a way to resolve this problem separately from th e
homeless parking issues .
Some of my concerns with the recommendations in Staffs report are as follows :
1 . The proposed ordinance will allow an owner of an RV or trailer to park his vehicl e
within 75 feet of his home (which could be across the street, down the street, or i n
front of your home) and play another vehicular shell game (as our 72 hou r
ordinance has caused for years) by moving the vehicle in and out of his drivewa y
to accommodate the 3 out of 7 night cycle recommended by staff . Not only doe s
this defeat the purpose of the ordinance but it will most likely create neighbo r
animus .
2 . The recommendation that the parking prohibition begin at midnight and end a t
5 :00 a .m . is illogical .
(a)Since staff reports that large vehicles parked in residential streets create traffi c
safety problems, it's difficult to comprehend how allowing these large vehicles t o
be parked on city streets all day, every day, and several nights a week will d o
anything to prevent those problems . In fact, this ordinance will most likel y
exacerbate the current problems .
(b)Further, the survey questions regarding the hours of the prohibition wer e
ambiguous and there was a lot of confusion at the workshop about those question s
referring to timing . Many respondents couldn't even answer some of the question s
because the choices weren't coordinated properly . This confusion could make th e
survey results questionable .
(c)Finally, realistically, who is going to stay awake until midnight or wake u p
before 5 :00 a .m ., so they can phone the police to report a violation of thi s
ordinance? Violations will just not be reported . However, if a violation is reported ,
violators can simply work around the ordinance by pulling the vehicle into thei r
driveway at night and return it to the street during the day, resulting in anothe r
vehicular shell game and certainly not a solution to the problem . A 24 hou r
prohibition would eliminate any type of shell game from being played, allowing a
more realistic enforcement .
3 . Since our police resources are already stretched thin with overnight crime, it i s
doubtful that we have sufficient police personnel to not only issue the violation s
but to follow up with the complaints to verify compliance . If there is no follow up ,
there is basically no real enforcement .
4 . I also believe that after the third violation, the vehicle should be towed, rathe r
than allowing five violations before towing . If an offender doesn't comply afte r
three violations, he is intentionally defying the ordinance and should have hi s
vehicle towed .
2
The permit process suggested by staff that allows for overnight visits from guest s
several times a year appears appropriate, as long as staff will be carefully monitorin g
these permits to make sure no one exceeds their allotted number .
I have been a motor home owner for 35 years, traveling throughout the U .S ., Canada ,
and Mexico . I understand the need to have a place to store one's RV but I certainl y
would never consider storing my 27' motor home on the street in my neighborhood .
There are plenty of RV storage facilities in our City with reasonable rates and there is n o
excuse for any RV owner to use our neighborhood streets as an RV storage lot .
I strongly believe our city needs a clear and strict ordinance regulating the storage o f
RV's and other large vehicles on our streets . Passing an ordinance that is complicated ,
discourages complaints, and hinders enforcement will not help to resolve this problem .
Thank you for your attention to this issue .
Carolyn Smit h
San Luis Obispo, CA
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