RV crackdown drops numbers

Since it went into effect, the city has issued about 22 citations, though most were issued for parking and registration-related violations, not for living in their vehicles.

“They’re not supposed to be living in their vehicles, but that requires a little more investigation,” Police Chief Ed Barberini said during a meeting Dec. 15. “We’ve written four citations for using your vehicle as your home. We have to prove that. There is a standard there, so that takes some time.”

Still, the city has seen a precipitous drop in the number of RVs based on biweekly census counts, down to 13 citywide compared to about 70 at its peak, based on the latest figures. 

However, Councilmember Danielle Cwirko-Godycki noted that she’s heard more complaints about RVs migrating to the eastern side of the city, including parts of her district. 

“On the east side of the freeway we are getting RVs … where we have the sandbag station off Anchor Road, I've noticed some folks who have moved out there,” she said, adding that residents in Mariner’s Green 3 have also complained. 

The overall number of vehicles in the city is still much lower than earlier this year, but Barberini said there are a lot more RV dwellers on the move now with the enhanced enforcement. 

“It's not that we haven't been doing enforcement in those areas. It’s that the RVs tended to congregate in certain areas before,” Barberini said.  “We've seen they are a little bit more transitory now, so they're trying to find places that maybe they haven't gone before, and they're bouncing around a little more than before.”

The topic was part of a bigger conversation surrounding progress on the city’s goals for the year, of which stricter RV enforcement was one. Earlier in the year, the city also directed staff to enforce more parking regulations for food trucks, which have been the source of numerous complaints, especially in the North Central neighborhood, and at least 50 complaints between summer 2024 and this past summer. However, for other non-vehicle-based food vending, which have also raised concerns, the city is limited in its ability to impose more restrictions, given state law. 

“What seems to elude us is people who aren't in trucks. For example, on South Delaware Street in my district, they’re on the sidewalk and I'm sure they will be when I go home tonight. The grease on the sidewalk where they are is about a 40-foot grease spot. Even if we can't get rid of them, I would like to see if we could make sure they are cleaning up after themselves,” Rob Newsom said. 

The city also discussed progress on decarbonization efforts, such as approving municipal building electrification, as well as emergency preparedness initiatives, including training.