Iowa town to propose tighter rules on RV street parking

It may soon be illegal for residents of Sioux City, Iowa to park an RV in front of their homes as city lawmakers consider new restrictive parking rules. Under a proposal to be presented to the City Council Nov. 5, those vehicles still may be parked on residential streets, but only for 24 hours and only twice every 30 days. Town residents have complained that RVs parked in the street create nuisances for neighbors and create possible safety hazards.

"It must have been the summer of the RVs," Rosanne Lienhard, assistant city attorney, told the Sioux City Journal. "We had a huge increase in complaints to the police department -- for RVs, slideouts, boats, trailers -- it was everything."

Current city law requires owners of motor vehicles who park on the street to move their vehicles daily. "A lot of people were doing that," Lienhard said. "That is not the intent of the law. That's why I wrote a much stricter code. It was not well defined before." Additionally, she said the current law does not define recreational vehicles. Under the new proposal, RVs and trailers are defined as "motor homes, travel trailer, fifth-wheel trailer, campers, camper trailers."

Violators would be guilty of a misdemeanor, which typically results in a $50 fine plus court costs and allows the police department to have the vehicle towed.