From: Brian Eberly
To: Mary Gourley
Subject: Written public comment
Date: Tuesday, January 18, 2022 10:48:02 AM
My name is Brian Eberly, this is a public comment regarding agenda item #7:Parking Ordinance.
My family lives in downtown sebastopol and we have a small (15 foot) travel trailer, which we use occasionally for camping, but primarily as an evacuation vehicle during fire season.
Having lost our home in the Tubbs fire, we are acutely aware of the impacts of evacuating and being displaced due to the now seemingly annual fire threats. During the fire season, we park our trailer on the street in front of our house and move it every 3 days to stay within the bounds of the 72 hour rule. During the winter, the trailer is stored elsewhere. During red-flag days, we make sure our go-bags are in the trailer and often hitch it up to our tow vehicle, just in case we need to evacuate in the middle of the night.
Knowing that we have a place that is familiar to our kids and that we can take with us in the event of a fire brings us a great deal of relief during the traumatic and stressful fire season.
Banning the parking of RV's and trailers on streets means that the only people who can have the security of an emergency evacuation trailer are those wealthy enough to afford to own a home with off-street parking.
While I understand the concerns of residents that think trailers are a nuisance, disaster preparedness should be at the top of the priority list.
Thank you.