OCEANSIDE — Residents who wish to park their RVs, work trucks or other oversized vehicles overnight in front of their homes can do so as long as they have a city permit.
City code now prohibits the parking of an oversized vehicle, non-motorized vehicle or unattached trailer from 2 to 6 a.m. on any street or city parking lot with the exception of any commercial vehicles loading, unloading or delivering goods and any vehicles with a valid permit.
Residents who own an oversized vehicle can apply for an oversized vehicle permit.
Out-of-town visitors of residents can also purchase permits through residents who can prove their residency within the city.
“You couldn’t just come in from Arizona and call in to park it,” said Public Works Division Manager Nathan Mertz. “You have to have a registered vehicle to a residential address in Oceanside, and that registration has to be current.”
A vehicle is considered oversized if it is taller or wider than 7 feet, or longer than 25 feet.
Earlier this year, the city imposed overnight parking restrictions on oversized vehicles in an effort to address numerous complaints from residents and business owners regarding the increasing number of oversized vehicles being parked in residential and commercial areas.
Many of these vehicles would remain parked for extended periods of time with personal belongings being stored around the vehicles that would often take up limited parking spaces for long periods of time.
According to staff, these vehicles created potential safety issues, including blocking sight distance from driveways and intersections as well as other health hazards including illegal dumping of sewage waste, which had also been observed from some of these vehicles.
Residents can use their permits for up to 24 hours at $5 per night, and can only purchase up to six permits per month at that price. They can also purchase annual permits for $150.
Originally, staff proposed a monthly permit cost of $150, but Councilmember Chris Rodriguez and Deputy Mayor Ryan Keim pushed back against that cost and bumped it down to only $150 for the whole year.
Rather than using physical permits like hanging tags or stickers, the city will rely on vehicle license plate numbers to identify which vehicles are permitted.
