Hollister council members Tuesday appeared to side toward changing city rules and allowing boats and RVs to park in driveways, while officials are looking to make other changes to the local ordinance as well.
Council members heard a presentation on the city ordinance regulating parking of boats and RVs, and gave direction to Assistant Planner Ambur Cameron.
The two big points of discussion Tuesday were a current law limiting boats and RVs to park in the driveway for 14 cumulative days per year, and potentially changing the driveway rule to eventually allow parking with certain restrictions.
Council members also seemed OK with the idea of changing one other rule that currently requires boats and RVs to be fully enclosed when stored in the rear or side yard.
The prospective changes must go back to the planning commission next month before returning to the council for official consideration.
Councilman Marty Richman and Mayor Ignacio Velazquez both expressed support for allowing boat/RV parking in driveways. He said the 14-day rule in place, which could be changed in the interim to allow them for 72-hour periods, is unenforceable.
“It’s silly to have an unenforceable rule,” he said.
Velazquez said he’s OK with the vehicle parking in driveways as long as people aren’t living in them.
One public speaker in favor of eliminating the driveway ban was former Hollister City Manager George Lewis. He noted how it is legal to drive and park the vehicles on public roads.
“I’m concerned that you are discriminating against RVs and boats,” Lewis said.
