Matt Bowler

RV camper on Dog Beach shown on KPBS

It may get harder to live for free in Escondido. In June, the city council passed a ban on public camping; this week they'll consider tougher parking rules for recreational vehicles.

The proposed ordinance would impose citywide restrictions on RV parking on highways, streets, alleys, public ways and places, and city parking lots with certain exceptions. It would also authorize the police to tow and impound an RV after a single violation. 

Last January, the city held off on approving the stricter rules for RV parking until more information was available about permits, city regulations, and potential safe parking lots, which provide free overnight parking. 

The city currently allows RV parking on residential private property, in the Dixon Lake Campground, where stays are limited to 14 days in a 30-day period and charge a daily fee, and at Escondido RV Resort, a travel trailer park that rents space to recreational vehicles — but there are no safe parking lots. 

A report says the city receives frequent complaints about long term RV parking, trash and "liquid waste" on public streets and property all around Escondido. The bulky vehicles are also seen as a safety issue, hampering visibility for drivers and pedestrians, especially when parked near intersections or on curves, and can block access to driveways on narrower streets.

Other cities that ban or restrict RV parking on public streets are Carlsbad, Chula Vista, Coronado, Del Mar, El Cajon, Encinitas, Imperial Beach, National City, Oceanside, San Diego, San Marcos, Santee, Solana Beach and Vista.

While Vista and Encinitas, both near Escondido, have safe parking lots, they don't allow RVs. The county's only lot that does is in Mission Valley. 

The proposed rules would allow parking to make emergency repairs; for one 24-hour period for loading and unloading within 100 yards of the registered address of the RV; in posted city lots that allow RV parking; for RVs belonging to a federal, state, or local agency; and during city emergencies or permitted special events.

If the council adopts the ordinance, it will take about six weeks to install approximately 58 signs, at a cost of $15,000, on all road entrances into the city.

Enforcement of the ordinance is expected to begin after November 1, 2024.