The Buellton City Council saw packed chambers at its July 27 meeting, when it reconsidered an ordinance banning trailers, boats, and recreational vehicles (RVs) from being parked on residential driveways, lawns, and streets. Residents filled every seat, stood, and a line of children sat along a back wall during a charged public comment session.
“First of all, I’d like to say, when did America not become America?” Buellton homeowner Scott Parrish said during public comment. “I mean, we have our properties, we should be able to do what we want on our own properties. It’s our property; we pay our taxes, we pay for the house.”
Parrish said he “threw a fit” when he received a letter earlier this year from the Buellton Planning Department informing him that the RV in his driveway was no longer up to the city’s code.
Before the public comment period began, Buellton City Manager Marc Bierdzinksi reminded the council of the steps that led to the current situation. Last year, a city resident brought concerns to the City Council regarding recreational vehicles parked in front yards and noncompliance issues with existing city code. The council requested that Bierdzinksi “come back with some options,” and the City Council decided to tighten existing rules. A first reading of those rules happened Jan. 26, which were voted into effect at a Feb. 9 meeting but not scheduled to be enforced until September.
The ordinance banned parking RVs, trailers, and boats on the street and required at least 5 feet of space between the vehicles and homes if parked in a side yard or back portion of a driveway. It also banned parking the vehicles on lawns.
When residents like Parrish received letters warning them of noncompliance, an outcry over property rights was ignited in the small city. That led the council to reconsider the ordinance, with residents getting a chance to share their thoughts at the July 27 meeting.
Some defended the city’s right to act in the greater good of the community. Others argued that the council was acting like a homeowner’s association. Some, like Parrish, made it clear that they saw the ordinance as a violation of their rights.
One resident said she moved to Buellton from Santa Barbara to “get away from some of that hyper-management.” Another called the ordinance “un-American,” and that it would take money from families that call Buellton home.
Another resident, who said she’s the one who brought the noncompliance concerns to the council, claimed to be the victim of “character assassination.”
Buellton Mayor Holly Sierra told the Sun that she and the council considered everyone’s concerns, and “tweaked” the ordinance, which will be read at the council’s next meeting after it’s reworked. The council voted to cut the required space between vehicles and homes in half and keep the ban on street and lawn parking.
The ordinance considers all of Buellton’s residences, the aesthetic character of the city, and the safety of residents, she said. Parking large RVs on the street does pose a safety concern, she said.
“I think we’re a lot looser than Santa Barbara or Solvang, where you have to park it in your backyard,” Sierra said. “So, I think we’re tightening it a little bit. What I got from a lot of people was that they moved up here so they didn’t have to follow a lot of rules, that they could put their boat on the front lawn if they wanted to. It’s just, Buellton is growing up.”
This article appears in Aug 3-10, 2017.