SAN DIEGO (CBS 8 / CNS) - The City Council gave initial approval this week to citywide parking restrictions on oversized vehicles like campers and trailers, but it could be several months to a year before the city can fully implement the program.
The ordinance is in response to numerous homeowner complaints that big vehicles block views and create traffic hazards when left along curbsides in residential neighborhoods.
"It's a safety issue," said city council president Todd Gloria before voting in support of the measure. The proposal for a citywide ban, prohibiting RV parking on city streets between 2am and 6am, passed by a 6-2 vote.
"These giant RVs are all over our neighborhood," one supporter of the ban said before the council's vote. "It's not safe for us, it's not safe for kids."
Currently, RVs can remain parked in the same spot on San Diego public streets for up to 72 hours before they must move one-tenth of a mile. It's a rule many San Diegans say is not uniformly enforced and creates a nuisance for the community, from loud generator noise to sometimes criminal behavior.
Last May, a blaze that started in an RV camped out for several days in a Poway neighborhood caught a nearby home on fire.
In 2011, transient Stephen Dragasits, who had been staying in his trailer parked throughout Kearny Mesa, was arrested for randomly shooting at drivers along the 163 freeway.
Critics of the ban at Monday's council meeting blasted the proposal, which they said unfairly targeted all RV owners. They contend that the current regulations are working
The California Coastal Commission must now give its final approval to the council's vote. The measure, which is expected to pass, could be in place by October throughout the city of San Diego.
According to the proposal, violators of the overnight parking ban would be assessed a fine of $100.
San Diego residents who own RVs will be able to apply for permits to park on the same block as their home, while preparing for trips.