The Bend Bulletin reports that the city council of Redmond, Washington has recently made some changes to the city code in response to residents complaining about RVs. The new rules will provide more explicit criteria for what constitutes a permanent residence, including whether the RV is connected to water, sewer, or power. Adding a deck to the RV or insulating the underside also counts against an RV being classified as a vehicle.
Roberts said the city receives more than 100 complaints about RVs in rights of way per year, and about 10 annual complaints about RVs on people’s property. A March city staff report lists specific complaints the city has received regarding the vehicles. “In my general area there are camp trailers and utility trailers parked on the streets in violation of city code and no one seems to do anything about it,” one complaint stated.
“We live in a nice area; it is zoned as single-family homes, not single-family plus people living in driveways,” said another complaint. Roberts said there is a large number of RVs used as permanent homes throughout Redmond. “Sometimes I feel like you could throw a stone and hit an RV in this community,” he said.
According to Roberts, the city addresses RVs based on complaints and staffers don’t “go out looking for violations.” If someone complains to the city about an RV in a street, the police handle the situation. If the complaint is about somebody living in an RV in their yard or on a driveway, the city’s code compliance officers would first make sure the complaint is legitimate. If the issue isn’t fabricated or embellished, then the city will give the RV owner some time to move their vehicle, usually about two weeks. If the RV isn’t moved by then, a citation of $500 will be given. If the fine isn’t paid after a certain amount of time, it doubles, Roberts said.
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