Motor Home Parking Ban Considered

Responding to residents’ complaints, the City Council on Wednesday will discuss barring oversized vehicles--such as motor homes--from parking on city streets during the day.

Mayor Patrick Hunter said the bulky vehicles, left for days along the curb, can block motorists’ views of intersections and sidewalks.

“Some of these are almost permanently parked,” he said. “They can become a significant safety problem, with children running out from behind them.”

The council will review an existing Agoura Hills regulation that covers vehicles larger than 20 feet in length, 80 inches in width and 82 inches in height. Drivers who park such vehicles along city streets during the day may be cited by the police, and their vehicles may be towed. Exceptions are made for vehicles loading or unloading at the curb.

Should Moorpark adopt a similar ordinance, motor home owners would be prevented from parking on streets between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. and would have to park their vehicles in a storage yard or some other area, Hunter said.

The proposed policy would cost about $3,500 to implement, with $1,500 of that cost going toward the purchase of signs alerting drivers to the new rule. City staffers have pointed out that the proposed change would inconvenience some city residents, add to the number of signs cluttering local roads and give the sheriff’s deputies who patrol Moorpark yet another parking rule to enforce.