From: amanda zangara
To: City Council
Subject: RV Ordinance
Date: Thursday, March 31, 2022 3:12:36 PM
To the City Council of Sebastopol:
I am writing to express my sincere discontent with the approval of the RV parking ordinance in Sebastopol. My husband and I are both early childhood educators and are long-term renters in the community, and we own a small (13') trailer which we keep parked outside of our home. Neither our landlord nor neighbors have ever had any issue or complaint with us parking this in front of our house.
We live in the Valley View neighborhood, and many other households also store their RVs or trailers in front of their houses. I am curious to know if the police department has ever received complaints about them in our neighborhood. My guess would be very few.
My husband and I attended the City Council meeting via Zoom prior to the official vote regarding this ordinance. We were dismayed by the NIMBYism expressed by many town residents. It honestly made us reconsider our choice to live here, a place which we formerly believed embodied progressive thinking and acceptance of many people, regardless of their socioeconomic status. I specifically recall one person making a comment to the effect of, "Our city streets are a scorecard of how our city is doing." I do not share this viewpoint and find that it reflects the white, elitist values that we are so desperately trying to unveil and squelch in much of our society. While I understand the businesses on Morris Street being adversely affected by the former RV situation, I believe this could be looked at separately from those of us who park our trailers in front of our house.
We will likely choose to keep ours parked there and wait to get a ticket. As the explanation of the ordinance and FAQs on the city website do not mention how much the citation will be, nor when it will be subject to towing, it seems we will just have to wait until one or both happens, unless this could be better explained to the public. I certainly hope to see some additional information as soon as possible. A more timely delivery of more thorough information would be ideal; an officer of the law informed us today of the ordinance that went into effect on 3/26/22, with it being displayed on the city website on 3/24/22. That just isn't enough time for us to prepare. When exactly will ticketing begin? My bet is that our citations will be cheaper than paying to house our trailer in storage, which with the rising cost of living in our community, we simply don't feel like we should have to pay. Perhaps if we were part of the more affluent home-owning members of the community who could easily move it into our driveway, we wouldn't feel so strongly. Furthermore, as we invested in our trailer as a way to evacuate in the event of fire danger, we would potentially be unable to utilize it were it to be stored elsewhere than in front of our home. People who are fortunate enough to have the space or own property to be able to do this don't have to think about such a thing. Sounds like discrimination to me.
I sincerely hope there will be reconsideration of a permitting process for those of us who own trailers and are not inconveniencing or threatening the community. It certainly seems as if those of us who can not afford storage are paying the price of a larger issue that needs addressing in a different manner. I am further dismayed by the fact that our tax dollars will be contributing to the policing of RV and trailer owners, as we are now essentially paying to have ourselves ticketed and/or towed. It is truly deplorable when I consider it in that regard. If I am mistaken in this realization, please do correct me.
I urge you to make a change in this ordinance that better serves all members of the Sebastopol community. If not, you will absolutely hear from me again.
Sincerely,
Amanda Zangara