SSV=Self-Sufficient Vehicle

During the recent Memorial Day weekend, a Carlsbad resident observed several large RVs constantly parked just north of the Tamarack Beach area in Carlsbad. The same resident appeared before the city council on June 8 to request that the council consider adopting a citywide ordinance prohibiting such vehicles from parking near the beach.

According to the man’s testimony, the RVs come from cities such as Temecula and Escondido. He said RV owners circumvent the overnight-parking restriction by moving their vehicles to a Walmart parking lot at nighttime and immediately return to the beach area in morning.

“They were there at six a.m.: they set up their tents, their canopies, their lounge [chairs], and their barbecues.” The visitors remained until dusk, and the cycle repeated itself through the weekend, reported the resident. By his count, 11 large vehicles were parked that weekend and “about 30” parking spaces were lost for three days.

He expressed concern that locals are getting pushed out of the parking area because visitors in RVs take up all of the spaces. He also asked that the council follow the lead of San Diego and Oceanside, which have both adopted ordinances that limit the parking options of RVs.

“That way these people just have to go elsewhere,” said the resident. “They do nothing for Carlsbad. There’s no money involved with them — they come in and they’re self-sufficient.”

San Diego city code prohibits RV parking on “public street[s], park road[s], or park parking lot[s]...for a period longer than four hours without having been moved more than 1/10 of a mile." In Oceanside, vehicles “over seven (7) feet in height” are prohibited from parking on Pacific Street between Wisconsin Avenue and Surfrider Way.