Baltimore County Council members will vote Tuesday on a bill that limits the time recreational vehicle owners can park their rigs on residential streets.
Several residents voiced their support for the measure at the council?s worksession Tuesday, and one showed photos of an RV blocking his street, calling it a safety hazard and an aesthetic eyesore.
Council Member Vince Gardina, D-District 5, who is sponsoring the bill, said existing law regulates boat parking on public property, but not RVs.
“I?ve been getting a lot of complaints about this over the years, as have the other council members,” he said. “There?s just limited parking.”
Rodgers Forge resident Don Gerding said recreational vehicles occupy as many as four spaces in older neighborhoods where residents don?t have garages.
Already, homeowners park on both sides of narrow, one-way streets, he said, and RVs make driving more difficult.
He said it?s also hard to determine vehicles? owners because they often park away from their own streets.
“They stay there for weeks and weeks and weeks and a lot of them live blocks away,” Gerding said. “It?s very aggravating, but also not conducive to community living. And we?re not the only ones that suffer.”
Police officer and Perry Hall resident Joe Michael said one large RV prevents motorists from seeing oncoming traffic as they turn out of a side street. He said he almost got hit head-on.
But Rosedale RV owner Alan Schultheis, who is trying to sell his vehicle in light of soaring gas prices, said he doesn?t know how the county can enforce the policy.
“You pay tags for it and you pay insurance for it,” he said. “They?ll have to stop cars from parking on the street, too.”
No one testified against the bill at the council work session, and Gardina said he expects the bill to pass easily Tuesday.
