Land Use, Sustainability, and Resilience Committee
TO: LAND USE, SUSTAINABILITY, AND DATE: AUGUST 14, 2023
RESILIENCE COMMITTEE MEMBERS
FROM: COMMUNITY & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT WARDS: ALL
DEPARTMENT
SUBJECT: ZONING REGULATIONS FOR RECREATIONAL VEHICLE PARKING WITHIN RESIDENTIAL ZONES ISSUE:
Options for potential Title 19 (Zoning Code) amendments to the current recreational vehicle parking regulations in residential zones.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
That the Land Use, Sustainability, and Resilience Committee:
Receive and file options for updating the City’s zoning regulations related to recreational vehicle parking within residential zones; and Provide staff with direction for maintaining or changing the current code.
BACKGROUND:
At the December 20, 2022, City Council meeting Councilwoman Plascencia requested that an update be brought to the Land Use, Sustainability and Resilience Committee (Committee) related to the parking of motorhomes and other recreational vehicles within single-family residential zones.
On March 13, 2023, staff presented an update to the Committee on the parking of motorhomes and recreational vehicles within single-family residential zones. The update included a briefing on the City’s current regulations, regional best practices, number of code enforcement cases related to recreational vehicle parking, and items for future consideration (Attachment 1). The Committee provided direction to staff to explore potential code amendments to update the City’s recreational vehicle parking regulations.
DISCUSSION:
Title 19 (Zoning) of the Riverside Municipal Code, Chapter 19.580 (Parking and Loading) establishes standards for parking and storing recreational vehicles within single-family residential zones based on gross vehicular weight (Attachment 2). Generally, recreational vehicles must be stored in a garage, carport, or a paved driveway. Recreational vehicles weighing less than 10,000 pounds gross vehicular weight rating (GVWR) may be stored in any Single-Family Residential Zone. Recreational vehicles weighing more than 10,000 GVWR are further restricted to parking only in the Residential Agriculture (RA-5), Residential Estate (RE) and Rural Residential (RR) Zones and are limited to side and rear yard areas only. Based on the cross-jurisdictional analysis of best practices and Committee discussion from the March 13 meeting, the following options for potential code updates are presented for the Committee’s consideration. The options provided are not necessarily exclusive of one another. The Committee may choose to pursue one or more of the following options.
Option 1: Status Quo
As of February 2023, there are seven active recreational vehicle code enforcement cases, less than 1% of all active code enforcement cases. Since then, no new cases have opened. On average, the Code Enforcement Division will receive less than ten complaints a year regarding recreational vehicles. This option would maintain the existing code requirements (Attachment 2) and code enforcement process for recreational vehicle parking in residential zones. Maintaining the existing language will not impact staff time and resources more than what current regulations require.
Option 2: Increase or Remove Weight Limit
Recreational vehicles come in a wide range of sizes and weights depending the on the class type. Newer motorhome models popular in today’s market often exceed the 10,000-pound weight threshold established in the Riverside Municipal Code. For example, the average Class A motorhome can weigh between 18,000 to more than 35,000 GVWR. Code language may be updated to increase or remove the maximum weight limit of 10,000 GVWR to allow for larger/heavier types of recreational vehicles to be stored in all Single-Family Zones. Of the jurisdictions surveyed, most municipal codes are silent on any size limits, including weight. With direction from the Committee, option 2 will require additional research on appropriate weight limits, if any, and the preparation of a Zoning Text Amendment for review by the Planning Commission and approval by the City Council. Coordination between decision-makers and Staff will be required to address the existing code enforcement cases.
Option 3: Dimensional Size Limit
An alternative to weight limits is dimensional size limits. Recreational vehicles can range anywhere between 9 feet tall and 17 feet long (Class B motorhome/camper van) to 13 feet tall and 45 feet long (Class A motorhomes and fifth wheel trailers). Of the jurisdictions surveyed, only the City of Claremont regulates recreational vehicles based on size, limiting motor homes to nine feet tall, eight feet wide, and 19 feet long. Trucks with slide-in campers are limited to nine feet in height, eight feet in width, and 22 feet in length. With direction from the Committee, this option will require additional research to determine appropriate dimensional limits and the preparation of a Zoning Text Amendment for review by the Planning Commission and approval by the City Council. Coordination between decisions-makers and Staff will be required to address the existing code enforcement cases.
Option 4: Location and Screening Requirements
Most complaints received by code enforcement are related to the visual impacts of storing large recreational vehicles along residential street frontages. Location and screening requirements can address these concerns. The City of Riverside currently does not have screening requirements for recreational vehicle parking; parking of recreational vehicles over 10,000 GVWR is limited to side and rear yard areas only in Zones where permitted. Of the five jurisdictions surveyed, four had location and screening requirements that addressed visual impacts of recreational vehicle storage. Examples of screening requirements are listed below:
All stored recreational vehicles shall be screened from public view by building walls, decorative screen walls or fences and landscaping to the greatest extent possible. (City of Chino) Vehicles shall be stored on a paved surface and screened from public view by buildings, decorative screen walls or fences, or a combination thereof. (City of Ontario) [Parking of recreational vehicles permitted in] areas of interior side, street side… or rear yards which are fully screened by solid six-foot fences or walls and/or view-obscuring landscaping, except within five (5) feet of the rear property line. (City of West Covina) [No Recreational Vehicles shall be parked in a residential area] except if parked or stored within a garage or in a side or rear yard area that is enclosed with a non-transparent fence, a wall, or continuous row of shrubbery, not less than five feet high. No such vehicles shall be parked in any yard area between a house and the street, when such yard area is not enclosed with a non-transparent fence, a wall, or continuous row of shrubbery, not less than five feet high. (City of Claremont).
With direction from the Committee, this option will require additional research on the appropriate screening requirements and the preparation of a Zoning Text Amendment for review by the Planning Commission and approval by the City Council.
Option 5: Allow Through an Administrative Permit
In addition to updating the parking requirements, an administrative permit may be considered as a tool to regulate recreational vehicles in residential zones. This additional process can be used to regulate all recreational vehicle parking or specific instances. For example, the City of West Covina utilizes an administrative use permit only when it can be demonstrated that no other suitable parking area exists in a garage, carport, or side or rear yard due to access or garage dimensions. Because there is no existing process for this type of administrative permit in the City, a new permit, review, and approval process would be required. Consistent with all other permitting procedures, specific findings must be established to demonstrate that approval of the permit will have no negative impacts on the surrounding neighborhood. With the Committee’s direction, research and outreach on the potential permitting requirements (including any potential fees) and regulatory outcomes must be conducted prior to introducing a new process to the Municipal Code. This option would ultimately require the preparation of a Zoning Text Amendment for the review and recommendation of the Planning Commission and approval of the City Council.
STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT:
This item contributes to Strategic Priority 2 – Community Well-Being, Goal 2.3 – Strengthen neighborhood identities and improve community health and the physical environment through amenities and programs that foster an increased sense of community and enhanced feelings of pride and belonging citywide; and Strategic Priority 5 – High Performing Government, Goal 5.3 – Enhance communication and collaboration with community members to improve transparency, build public trust, and encourage shared decision-making.
This Project aligns with each of the five Cross-Cutting Threads as follows:
Community Trust – The potential policy options for recreational vehicle regulations is presented at an open public meeting and contains transparent information on City processes and regulations.
Equity – The potential policy options for recreational vehicle regulations seeks to promote environmental justice so that impacts of recreational vehicle are minimized on residents within neighborhoods.
Fiscal Responsibility – The potential policy options for recreational vehicle regulations may have some fiscal impact, depending on the policy pursued.
Innovation – The potential policy options for recreational vehicle regulations is seeking best practices that will innovate how the City addresses these vehicles in the future.
Sustainability & Resiliency – The potential policy options for recreational vehicle regulations seeks to minimize environmental impacts on surrounding neighborhoods.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no direct fiscal impact related to this report. Development and implementation of potential Code amendments would be absorbed by Community & Economic Development Department staff.
Prepared by: Jennifer Lilley, AICP, Community & Economic Development Director Certified as to
availability of funds: Edward Enriquez, Assistant City Manager/Chief Financial Officer Approved by: Rafael Guzman, Assistant City Manager
Approved as to form: Phaedra A. Norton, City Attorney
Attachments:
March 13, 2023 – Land Use, Sustainability, and Resiliency Committee Staff Report Title 19 – Chapter 19.580 – Parking Requirements
Presentation
Update on Recreational Vehicle Regulations · Page 8