An RV in a driveway? Park City considers parking changes
A longtime Prospector resident who once served on the Park City Council approached Mayor Jack Thomas and the current City Council roster recently asking that recreation vehicles be allowed to be parked in driveways or parking pads.
The issue had apparently been discussed between an unknown number of Park City residents and City Hall staffers, but it was brought to the elected officials for additional talks. The mayor and City Council were not prepared to make major decisions about the topic. A City Hall attorney told the elected officials they could not suspend the rules against the practice at the meeting.
Sally Elliott, who lives in Prospector and was once a member of the City Council, addressed the elected officials and drafted a two-page memo regarding the topic. The memo asked that enforcement be stopped.
“We ask that tonight, you suspend enforcement of the portion of the code that says ‘no RVs in driveways or front yard impervious pads’ until you hear from the public and the Planning Commission and are prepared to make a decision to change the code to be more reflective of the intent of your citizens,” the statement says.
It also questions whether it is just a small number of people unhappy with the situation.
“Are there only 51 complainants in a town of 8,500 permanent resident who don’t like RVs parked in their neighborhoods? If so, that’s ‘minority rule’ at .6%,” the memo from Elliott says.
Elliott told the elected officials her family has had a motorhome since 1998 that is parked in a pad beside the driveway. She said she was surprised to learn there was a violation. Her memo says the motorhome is stored in Heber City between November and April, but it is parked on the pad beside the driveway in the summer.
“To drive it to the storage facility and retrieve it every time we need it creates about 120 miles of unnecessary driving. I’m certain that is not your intent,” she says in the memo.
Marianne Cone, another former City Councilor, said seeing recreational vehicles is a “sign of life” in a community like Park City.
Bruce Erickson, the planning director at City Hall, drafted a report in anticipation of the meeting and discussed the topic with the City Council at the meeting. He said staffers have noted that some owners of vacation homes in Park City have used them as places to store recreation vehicles. Erickson said there will be discussion about the type of surface used in the locations where they are parked.
It seems that some of the upcoming discussion will deal with the idea of whether a vehicle is parked or whether it is left in the location for storage purposes. Several members of the City Council mentioned that point.
Nann Worel, a City Councilor, wondered whether the issue is one for a homeowners association. Erickson, though, said most neighborhoods in Park City are not regulated by a homeowner association or one is not active.
The Park City Planning Commission will eventually consider the matter.
Park City police summoned after tip jar taken on Main Street
The Park City Police Department in March issued a visitor from the Midwest a citation for a suspected theft in a case involving what the agency describes as the attempted taking of a tip jar on Main Street.
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