Why I oppose the RV storage ordinance

I want to address Ordinance No. 925 where the ordinance states that “snowmobiles, boats, or other recreational vehicles and campers, camper trailers, or motor homes must be parked in a rear yard unless the rear yard is inaccessible … .” The ordinance also goes on to limit how close it can be to buildings on your own property, among other restrictions.

I’m all for getting our streets cleaned up and enforcing parking rules, keeping in mind the needs of contractors who require trailers at a job site of course (which we can do permitting for). I voted no on Ordinance 925 because, in my opinion, and that of some of my constituents who have contacted me, it opens up the possibility of them having to be forced to store their camper somewhere else at a substantial cost to them. We don’t effectively enforce the parking ordinances we have now, which we should. Havre simply does not have the resources like Great Falls or Billings (which Havre is often compared to). Our street sweepers are forced to go around non-compliant cars or trailers, which is a great time to enforce current rules, but instead, dirt and trash pile up under these vehicles. The point is, let’s focus on what concerns us, which is on-street parking on city-owned property. That is where our energy should be concentrated.

There are citizens who follow the current laws and get their campers off the streets, while others blatantly ignore the laws all together for long periods of time with no consequence. Creating a “complaint-based” ordinance is essentially saying that we know people will break this ordinance but won’t do anything about it until a caller wants us to. Most citizens want to live within the bounds of the law. Nobody wants to park their trailer incorrectly in their yard, because that is their only option, only to hope a neighbor never complains. I agree folks probably shouldn’t park trailers on their front lawn, but I don’t support an ordinance that has the potential to be used as a retaliation tool by upset neighbors or can force someone to pay to store a trailer if they can store it on their property. It’s not our place to dictate where people put their trailers on their own property. Especially when we can’t get everyone to comply with rules regarding trailers that are parked on public property.

Finally, this ordinance is being used to promote safety, which I also agree safety is paramount, but it goes way beyond that. The incident that was referenced in the meeting where a camper caught fire over this last winter was an isolated incident for the area that had several other hazards involved. After hearing concerns from my constituency, I can’t support this new ordinance and believe that the public lacks education on it. If this issue becomes a big problem after our police department heavily enforces the street parking of the trailers under the current ordinance, then maybe we can revisit it, but until that’s done, I’m going to be a no vote. Most citizens are not fond of government overreach, especially when they’re doing everything right and living by the rules. This ordinance does just that to our citizens.

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Josh Miller represents Ward 1 on Havre City Council.