Motoring into the fray

Lolita Harper

COSTA MESA -- Dave Goss was enjoying a two-month vacation across the

southwest in his motor home when the Costa Mesa City Council first talked

about restricting parking of oversized vehicles.

The 66-year-old was relaxing in motor home heaven of Quartzsite,

Ariz., at the annual Sports, Vacation and RV Show, while his motor home

brethren were charging City Hall in opposition to more stringent parking

restrictions.

“Little did we know that while we were enjoying ourselves at the RV

show that our own RV privileges were being assaulted by the City

Council,” Goss said.

In December, council members began examining proposals to tighten the

existing 72-hour parking ordinance for oversized vehicles, saying they

had received numerous complaints about the unsightly and dangerously

large recreational vehicles.

In the last six months, the council has considered and subsequently

delayed any action on about five different proposals. Along the way, a

large group of motor home owners showed up at meetings to help steer

their city leaders in the right direction.

Goss did not land on the scene until February, when the council was

considering a detailed permit process that could limit the number of

trips motor home owners are allowed to take in any given year.

When he did land, he made an impression.

The unassuming, retired engineer came back from his trip and turned a

rowdy, fragmented group of motor home owners into an organized force to

be reckoned with. Goss took the advice of council members and started the

Costa Mesa RV Owners Assn., of which he is president.

“I’ve never gotten involved with an issue like this one,” said Goss,

who has owned a motor home for 11 year. “I don’t know what motivated me

to get into it to this extent, but I was upset and thought the city was

trying to enforce a lot of unnecessary restrictions.”

Goss has done extensive research on recreational vehicles, looking up

laws from other cities and aligning himself with the two largest motor

home owners associations in the country -- the Good Sam Club and Family

Motor Coach Assn.

He accessed member lists and got in touch with Costa Mesa recreational

vehicle owners who may not have known about the city’s efforts to buckle

down on oversized vehicles. Goss also started the Costa Mesa RV Owners

Assn. Web site, on which he posts relevant information.

“He is definitely a man that is dedicated to his cause,” said Costa

Mesa Police Lt. Karl Schuler, who has been charged with drafting the

city’s handful of possible oversized vehicle ordinances.

Schuler has spoken with Goss many times about the concerns of

recreational vehicle owners since the issue surfaced.

“It is obvious that he is working more for RV owners than those on the

other side of the fence -- so to speak -- but there is nothing wrong with

that,” Schuler said. “Mr. Goss made sure to point out that there are

responsible RV owners. And he is no doubt one of them.”

Goss stores his motor home off the street and understands that people

who don’t own recreational vehicles should not be forced to look at them.

At the same time, he wants to ensure that motor home owners are not

unfairly targeted.

“We are really trying to be fair,” Goss said. “We know people don’t

like seeing them stored in the streets, and we are not advocating that.

We just want the city to listen to us a little bit and meet us in the

middle.”

The council seems to hear Goss’ message, as it is considering an

ordinance that has garnered the approval of the Costa Mesa RV Owners

Assn.

That ordinance would prohibit RVs from parking on any city street,

with a 24-hour exception for loading and unloading purposes. The law has

a loophole that offers a 72-hour exception to anyone who asks for it, but

police officials warned it is not as “user friendly” as it may seem.

* Lolita Harper covers Costa Mesa. She may be reached at (949)

574-4275 or by e-mail at o7 lolita.harper@latimes.comf7 .