The question, as usual, becomes “Where should they go?” Like other issues surrounding unhoused people, the topic of recreational vehicles comes down to what options are available for those who are housing insecure in our community.
That is the gist of a recent article about RV parks in Vancouver. Most parks, which are privately operated, allow only newer vehicles. As reporter Alexis Weisend notes, “All RV parks in the city have restrictions on how old an RV can be to stay over a month, the most common cutoff being 10 years.”
The city of Vancouver operates a Safe Parking Zone for people living in vehicles. But Jamie Spinelli, the city’s homelessness response coordinator, notes that there is a waitlist and the park typically does not have room for RVs.
“It’s a major issue,” Spinelli said.
That issue arises from a conflict of reasonable but disparate positions. RV park operators have a right to restrict what kind of vehicles set up on their property, provided those restrictions are applied consistently. As the operators of one park wrote in response to a Google review: “. . . the age restriction is there to protect the infrastructure of the park, the residents, and help keep the park from looking run-down or like a junk yard.”
But many RV owners adequately maintain their vehicles. The operator of a park outside the city limits that does allow older RVs told The Columbian: “There are so many of the older models that are out there and these people have had them for years. And to say, ‘You have to buy a new one’ — most of them are older retirees or new families just starting out, and they can’t afford to do that.
“People keep their motor homes up because these are their homes. When they have a problem, they get professional help if they can’t fix it themselves, just like you would on a regular home.”
As the homeless crisis has expanded, so has the issue of recreational vehicles. Several cities along the West Coast have struggled with regulations and enforcement to prevent long-term parking along city streets. In 2018, the Legislature approved an addition to RV licensing fees, providing some funding for the removal of abandoned vehicles.
Dilapidated RVs are a common sight in Vancouver and throughout Clark County. But in 2021, the state Supreme Court ruled that a vehicle can be considered a home, somewhat limiting the power of municipal governments to move or seize property.
The city of Vancouver’s website notes that, “In order to legally park a trailer (recreational), motor home or other RV on a public street in the City of Vancouver a temporary RV parking permit must be issued.” But enforcement can be difficult, and removal of a derelict vehicle can be costly.
To be clear, there is a difference between a well-maintained, functioning recreational vehicle and one that has been allowed to deteriorate. But in either case the issue comes down to options for the owners.
Vancouver’s Safe Parking Zone, at the Evergreen Transit center, provides 55 spots of free, legal parking for residents living in vehicles. Earlier this year, there were 50 vehicles on the waitlist and Spinelli said: “You’re not supposed to be living in an RV on the streets. But because we don’t have shelter available, we’re kind of tolerating it and trying to connect people to services.”
Therein lies the conundrum surrounding homelessness and people living in vehicles. Until enough housing and enough shelters are available, there are no easy answers to the question about where those people should go.
