Summarization of current San Jose ordinances as applied to RV/trailer parking:
An RV/trailer may be parked in a front yard if it is on pavement (17.72.600), perpedicular to the street (17.72.610), not used for sleeping (17.72.580) and does not interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property (17.02.010, 17.72.620).
See Resources tab for link to the text of these regulations.
Ordinance 17.02.010:
prohibits “any thing or condition” which “interferes with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property”
Enforcement appears to be limited to specifically delineated conditions.
Ordinance 17.72.620:
Prohibits a parking condition which complies with the specific parking ordinances, but violates another provision of the code
The subordinate parking regulations provide no limitation on where in the front yard an RV may be parked.
Ignoring the surrounding environment leads to unreasonable impacts
Examples of home/RV parking configurations:
Someone else’s RV in front of home:
This is allowed… for 72 hours
How would you feel if someone parked here indefinitely?
Anything more intrusive should not be allowed
RV in driveway next door (releatively benign):
Less impacting to neighbor than if parked indefinitely on street in front of their home
RV in driveway next door (problem):
Proximity to neighbor living space is unacceptably close
Closer than if on street
Far more impacting than if on street – as seen in photo above
Request protection against this situation
Request that existing ordinance (e.g. 17.02.010/17.72.620) be applied to this condition and/or that specific criteria be added to RV/trailer parking ordinances
These options would provide protection against conditions such as depicted in the photo above:
Enforce existing ordinance (e.g. 17.02.010/17.72.620) in cases where an RV/trailer is parked closer than a prescribed distance to a neighboring street-facing, living-space window
Limit proximity: require that RV/trailers parked in front yards be at least a prescribed distance from neighboring street-facing, living-space windows
Require screening if an RV/trailer parking location is closer than a prescribed distance from neighboring street-facing, living-space windows
A reasonable prescribed distance would be the distance between the impacted window and the street.
If this distance is less than 25 feet, then the prescribed distance shall be 25 feet.
The rationale is to prevent conditions any more intrusive than a neighbor’s RV parked indefinitely on the street directly in front of one’s home.
Enforce on complaint and without regard to how long the RV/trailer has been parked in the reported location.
Please help urge the city to implement this sensible change!