Jan. 17, 2006

Richardson, Texas, and three residents have reached a settlement over an RV parking ordinance.

Ordinance 3473 bans long-term parking of RVs, including motorhomes, from the front of residential-zoned property. Vehicles parked beside or behind homes must be screened from street view.

As part of the settlement, the city agreed to refrain from enforcing the regulations until July 1, 2007. Until then, residents may continue to park in front driveways or without having to put up screening. Thereafter, violators face fines up to $2,000.

“Terms of the settlement were not what we had hoped for,” said Lou Boudreaux, who filed the lawsuit with Robert J. Rice and John Nelson. “We accepted this settlement offer based on the recommendations of our attorney and after deliberate consideration of the alternative of trial and subsequent appeals.”

The plaintiffs wanted an exemption for those who bought their vehicles before the ordinance was enacted. No one will be exempt from the regulations, Boudreaux said, but the moratorium on enforcement will give residents more time to comply.

Richardson City Council passed the ordinance in July 2004 in response to public concerns that parked RVs devalue property and threaten public safety. The ordinance took effect in February 2005.

The plaintiffs filed the lawsuit in October 2004, claiming the ordinance would restrict property owners’ rights. The case was scheduled to go to trial in the 191st District Court on Jan. 17, 2006.

The parking regulations were not being enforced, pending the trial’s outcome.

According to the ordinance, an RV may be parked in the side yard or rear yard of homes if screened from the view of the adjacent street. Forms of accepted screening include a wood fence at least 6 feet high or landscaping walls consisting of shrubs approved by the city. The plants must “provide a continuous unbroken solid visual screen which at maturity will reach a height of 6 feet or the height of the RV, whichever is greater.”

The ordinance allows temporary RV parking on owners’ property for loading and unloading, up to four times per year, not to exceed seven consecutive days. It limits on-street parking to two weeks, with a permit.

“We were frustrated in our attempts to influence City Council before the language of the ordinance was passed,” Boudreaux said. “We were unable to obtain any changes to the ordinance and only a relatively short delay in enforcement through legal action. Our only recourse is to exercise our rights as citizens through the ballot box.”

City of Richardson, Texas
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