La Cañada Flintridge City Council members want the city to regulate oversized vehicle parking in the public right of way, likely by issuing temporary permits — but they’re leaving the details to the Public Works and Traffic Commission.
The subject arose when a resident approached the City Council at a recent meeting to complain about a neighbor who was parking his recreational vehicle on the street for long periods.
The intent, council members cautioned at their meeting on Tuesday, July 3, is not to ban oversized vehicles, but to limit the amount of time residents are allowed to park them on city streets.
“We have a ski boat and we park it in front the day before and when we get back, so we can load and unload it,” Mayor Terry Walker said. “I don’t think anybody wants to prohibit that kind of activity, or the friends who are coming for the weekend. It’s the people who are using our streets as their storage unit for their recreational vehicles, that’s what we want to get around.”
City staffer Paddy Taber researched what neighboring cities do about oversized vehicles on their streets, and presented council members with examples.
“The way I approached it is, ‘If I was a recreational vehicle wanting to park in their city, how would I go about it?’ ” he said.
Among the examples he offered was Glendale, where oversized vehicles are prohibited from parking on a public street for more than two hours except when loading or unloading, though permits are available once a month for a 48-hour
period at $10 per permit.
In Pasadena, all overnight parking is prohibited except by a permit that is not available to vehicles taller than 7 feet.
In Burbank, parking oversized non-commercial vehicles is prohibited except by permits that cost $5 and are valid for a 24-hour period. A vehicle can be issued a maximum of 96 permits per year.
The cities also had varying definitions of what an oversized vehicle is, ranging from a minimum height of 7-8 feet and minimum length of 20-23 feet, Taber reported.
Council members liked the idea of temporary permits, and that they don’t want to charge for them.
The Sheriff’s Department will enforce whatever permitting ordinance the city approves, with a 30- or 60-day grace period for residents to adjust to new rules, which will be listed on street signs throughout the city.
City Considers Parking Rules for Large Vehicles
