RV, Boat Owners Give Oak Lawn Board Earful On Proposed Parking Ordinance

Caption: 1) RV and boat owners swamp Tuesday’s Oak Lawn Village Board meeting; 2) Resident holds up flier that appeared on RV owners’ doors before Tuesday’s meeting.

More than 100 RV and boat owners poured into Oak Lawn Village Hall on Tuesday evening to protest a proposed curb on parking recreation vehicles on residential properties.

Many learned of the item on the village board’s agenda from Tr. Bob Streit (Dist. 3), who sent out email blasts, as well as a survey, regarding changes to the village parking ordinances affecting recreational vehicles, defined as motor homes, campers, pop-up campers, boats, wave runners, snow mobiles, ATVs and trailers used to transport recreational vehicles.

The current ordinance prohibits recreational vehicles from being parked in the street or on grass on single-family properties. The village board’s legislative and license committee are vetting changes to the ordinance that could prohibit RVs exceeding eight feet in width, of 20 feet in length including hitch, and an overall height of 10 feet, from being parked and stored outside on a single-family property.

Such RVs would be required to park inside an enclosed garage or other accessory building. RVs smaller than these dimensions may continue to be parked or stored behind the front building line, or being a 5-foot-high screen or inside a garage or accessory building.

The proposed ordinance also carries provisions that would fine RV owners not less than $50, nor more than $750 for each offense.

“I’m glad to hear that the board is going to allow public debate on the issue,” Streit said when 25 RV and boat owners signed up to speak during public comments. “This item was on the legislative and license committee agenda, which are virtually impossible to find on the village’s website. Did anyone here get notice from the village?”

Other trustees, including the village attorney, noted that the proposed changes to the parking rules for recreational vehicles weren’t going to be voted on during Tuesday’s meeting, but were merely up for discussion.

“After 10 or 12 years of sitting on this board, this is a typical vetting of issues,” Tr. Alex Olejniczak (Dist. 2) said. “Bob, you can pretend what you’re trying to push across, but there is public vetting before an issue is voted on.”

One by one, Oak Lawn’s RV and boat owners implored the village board not to amend the current ordinance, which they said would force them to pay for storage facilities or make expensive modifications to garages to store their boats, campers and motor homes out of sight.

Casandra Dawe said that she and her husband installed a concrete pad in their yard to store their motor home and have gone out of their way to make sure it’s not a nuisance to their neighbors.

“When you read the letter of what this is ordinance is about you can’t build a garage high enough to house it … it would be a financial hardship,” Dawe said. “We have huge mortgages with these RVs. We put our summer home on wheels. This is how we spend time with our families. I hope you reconsider the motion.”

Brian O’Reilly suggested that local government stay out of residents’ business.

“Boats and trailers go to the heart of what this community is about. This is what we do with our families,” O’Reilly said. “If they’re properly plated and insured and parked on my property that I pay taxes for, I don’t see what you have to do with it.”

Another woman commented that her family’s pop-up camper is the only way she and her husband can afford to vacation with their children.

After the meeting, Tr. Mike Carberry (Dist. 6), chair of the board’s legislative and license committee, said he got a few complaints about from constituents regarding RVs parked in the neighborhood.

“This was never going for a vote,” Carberry said. “Some of the comments were wonderful, the family values … I understand that. Unfortunately we have to represent everybody. We’re looking for a common sense approach.”

Carberry liked the idea of putting the issue on a referendum. “Instead of 20-percent turnout maybe we’ll have 50-percent turnout in the next election. I’m all for it,” he said.

Streit noted that he received 17 emails from residents before the meeting concerned about the possible changes to the parking rules for RVs and boats on residential properties. He whispered that if he got that much response, the other trustees probably received similar communications.

“I think they backed down,” he said. “They probably said ‘hey, let’s table it.’ That’s what the word was. Have you ever seen an item on the agenda that was up for discussion that wasn’t going to be voted on?”