By dwelling, are you saying people can sleep in their RV while it is parked on a residential street? As long as the RV is moved every 72 hours.

Or did you mean the RV was dwelling on the Residential street.

I just have to ask, what is it about the "tattle on neighbors" questions in Ask the Californian recently? Does the bad economy make people want to get back at their troublesome neighbors even more?

Why should it matter as long as no one is 'living' in it and it is not bothering anyone by blocking the street or falling apart? Our RV usually is in our driveway but we had to move it to the street to pull in one of the cars so my husband could work on the car. We were going to park the RV on the grass area next to our driveway but we were told we can't park anything, not even a small utility trailer, on the grass that is on our property! Has to be cement! What difference does it make as long as it is on MY property that I pay for??!! 

We can't afford a storage place and we can't afford to pour more cement. If anybody would like to donate to either of these things please feel free to let me know.

There's an old metal trailer frame sitting directly on the corner of Arvin Street and Norris and while passing,  I've seen people almost run into it while rounding that corner.  Two cars cannot drive side by side there.  You'd think with sheriffs passing all the time they'd write then up.  Very dangerous.

That's not a matter of neighbor tattling, it's a matter of safety.   I thought there was an ordinance or law that said you can't park within so many feet from an intersection.

If you park a trailer on the grass, does it get moved weekly to mow under the trailer, or do the grass just grow wild and become a rat / other pest nest?

If you can afford an RV and the cost of gas to drive it around, you are much richer than I am, so sorry, no, I cannot afford donate towards your storage costs for it! :-P

I'm one of those persons who have to navigate streets where my view is blocked by permanently parked RVs. Coming out a side street you have to inch forward to see past them.

And then there's the guy whose RV is parked in his driveway, but hanging out all the way into the street, so his neighbour can't see pulling out of THEIR driveway into the street. Which, by the way, is their driveway on their property, so why should their enjoyment of their property be hampered by what the guy next door does on his driveway? These issues cut both ways.

Ah, the joys of suburbia. People are territorial by nature, we're not meant to live squished together with troublesome neighbors!

I think the bad economy just put people more on edge, so it is natural for them to become more prickly.

Witters,

I would like to donate. I just can't afford to right now.  :>)

sounds like a piece of garbage hanging out on the street...call law enforcement

thats what rv parking or rv storage is for....bought an rv and dont have rv parking, cant afford rv storage??  tsk tsk

NANCY & GRIFFON:  Our home is in the middle of a block - we do not block any corners or intersections. Yes, the RV would be moved to mow. No it does not block anything or anybody when in the driveway or on the street, people can drive by quite easily - even 2 cars.  No we can no longer afford to utilize the RV as we had intended. We took two long distance trips BEFORE the gas went through the roof - the last trip was to Chesapeake Virginia to help our daughter, her husband and our grand kids move to a new home. We carried the dogs, cats & kids in the RV which made it much nicer for all concerned. With gas, food and lodging (KOA's) the round trip cost about $3500.00 - yes, I kept track of every dime we spent.  This trip also included side trips to various site seeing things the kids wanted to see as they knew they would not pass that way again.

We retired (me last year, hubby in 2000 ) and paid off our cars and credit cards so we would be able to travel - now we can't because all personal and public things have gone up too much.  If I could sell the RV for even just what we owe on it, I would in a heart beat. We ARE NOT rich Griffon, just the well layed plans that often go astray. We could afford the RV (our 3rd - we traded up each time) when we traded our 2nd one. It is like a car, when the cost to fix it get to be more then it is worth you trade in and up. It IS NOT a new one, all of ours have been used.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm guess I should turn in my neighbor for his green pool that he never cleans every winter.  West nile virus ya know.

LEARNEM:  I'll trade paychecks with you and let's see if you can survive or afford anything above and beyond the basics.

trade paychecks??   lol

in times like this, i can point to my decisions i made early on in my life as to what my career would be.  virtually economy-proof.  i just dont overextend myself duringthe good times so i wont be regretting it in the bad times

besides, storing your rv on the street is illegal

witterpitters - Good for you! Many people will not move the RV or trailer to mow. And many other people park their RV where it impedes visibility for others. I don't have beef with responsible RV owners, but there are many who figure they can just park the thing in public space and let it be other people's eyesore and inconvenience. I personally, if I could afford one, would not purchase it unless I could store it behind my fence in my back yard - but that's just how I roll. I don't expect others to be the same way - general others, not referring to you in any way here.

I did not say you were rich, just that you're richer than me ;o) That probably doesn't make you rich, there's plenty of play between where I'm at, and where rich starts.

Out of curiosity - what is the storage cost for an RV?

GRIFFON: depends on the storage place and the size of the RV. Usually about $50-$80 a month. The bigger problem - for me - is that RV's are stored outside and many of our friends have had theirs broken into while in storage places. Replacing anything on an RV is not cheap. We have a2003 32 foot American Clipper with one slide out.  While we were traveling we had to change one of the tires and they charge like for a big rig......................$250.00. We have insurance - same as a car - but the deductible is $250.00. Like I said (LEARNEM) when we made the trade to trade up owing it was not a problem. I'm sure there are many other retired people like us as I see a lot of 5th wheels and RV's around our neighborhood that are 'parked'

I don't have a problem with RV's on the street.  I understand the cost of paying storage and don't want the theft.  I have found places to park my RV that are safe right now.  We also have  tattle tales in our neighborhood.  It is sad someone has to be in your business all the time.  Won't have to live this way forever though, plan on becoming a full timer. 

witterpitters - It is the getting broken into part that means that, if I could afford it, I wouldn't be laying out the enormous amount of cash that an RV purchase require if I couldn't store it safe and sound behind my own property fence, or afford for it to be stored in a facility with surveilance or guards or something that gives it some more protection than a lot somewhere on the edge of town with no security. Bakersfield, and America in general, doesn't have high crime rates, so people can 'store' their RV on the street without getting it damaged. Without that, I suspect there would be a lot less RVs around.

learnem - I've always been jittery about living too close to the limit of my means - thanks to youthful indiscretion with a credit card and a long, very painful climb out of that debt hole. Lesson well learned there! So I certainly agree with the philosophy not to come too close to the limit of your means at any time, and not to take a sudden availability of funds during good times for granted. In the current economical climate, I'm rather grateful to be both 100% debt free, and with a fair-sized sum socked away ... if the house prices drop a little more, back to reasonable levels, I may actually be able to afford a house, thanks to that sum put away over the years I couldn't come close to affording a house, thanks to the housing bubble. It is a long and painful tumble back down the hill now that the credit that had America living way beyond its means have run out.

EDIT:

dynaglide - the thing that I struggle to understand is how it is somehow a "tattletale" thing, and a negative thing, if people legitimately take issue with being inconvenienced by other people's RVs parked on the street. The street is public property, and Joe Next Door has as much of a right - much more of a right actually, given the fact that the law prohibits RVs parked permanently on the street - to enjoying a clean, unobstructed street as Bill RV has to park his RV there. What's with the sense of entitlement that the people doing it feels towards public property and breaking the law? It is one thing if somebody parks the RV in their driveways. That's their property ( although many let the thing portrude over the easements for sidewalks and the like - you don't own everything down to the gutter, after all ) - but parking in the street? That's public property. Unless the guys doing it are willing to let any member of Joe Public grab the RV and use it, they shouldn't expect Joe Public to put up with them using public land willy-nilly for private use.

GRIFFON:  In all the time our RV's have been in the driveway or on the street, they have never been broken into or damaged, nor do our neighbors complain. Our neighbor stores his 5th wheel and every time he goes to get it to go someplace, there is something wrong with it - vandalism wise. Our other neighbor stores his 5th wheel in his driveway and he has not had any problems. So go figure. The storage places have RV's & 5th wheels stored at the very back of their lots and usually one security person, if any. I'm sure they have cameras and such but if you don't know the date or approximate date the vandalism occurred it would be a moot point as many erase stuff every 48 hours.

GRIFFON:  We are "Joe Public" also, and parking the RV IN FRONT of our own house inconveniences no one.  Also, it keeps the darned kids from parking in front of my house blasting their darn music while they sit/stand there and chat. We live up the street from a local HS and the kids are really rude.  The people next door have parties and invite every friend and relative from here to tim-buck-two to the point they have parked in front of MY driveway and I can't get into my own driveway! When I asked them to move the vehicle they loudly told me it was "public property" and walked away!! I had to go down to the next house to ours go in their driveway to park my car on my grass!!!   At that time, my RV was also in my driveway - not on the street, the party people took up all the street parking for blocks.

Sounds like storage places are just trying to turn a quick buck - charging a bunch for some space, and you're pretty much on your own from there on out. I suppose part of the contract you sign dissolves them of any liability for the condition of your property.

Good on you for parking your RV in front of your own house. One guy down the street from me parks his in between a couple of houses on the other side of the street, where the curve of the road means there is a long property line between the houses, creating some 'dead space' a ways from anybody's driveway, but making it hard to see around this RV perched on the curve.

Another has his RV in his driveway, his big truck that does nothing except tow the RV parked in front of his house, and therefore his kids' cars are parked in front of other people's houses.

If they made the yards in new developments bigger so people could squeeze their toys into their yards, but everything tends towards smaller nowadays and besides, urban sprawl isn't good either. No easy solutions.

Generally speaking, there are plenty of cause for friction when it comes to utilization of streets curbside. I don't know if there are any laws beyond that of common decency and civility that govern who may or may not park in front of a given property. I don't believe that there's really any leg to stand on to discourage people parking front of your house, except if they violate some time period. It is simply something that almost everybody is civil about - you park in front of the house of somebody you are visiting, not in front of their neighbors, and so on. Public property doesn't mean free for all, it means you have to adhere to the rules governing that property, but there are people who take it to mean they can do as they please.

I guess that's one reason why subdivisions with homeowners associations that have sub-rules for that kind of thing are gaining in popularity. My mother-in-law has her eye on one that prohibits any vehicles parked in the street in front of any houses - visitors included - but does provide parking spaces throughout for visitors to park, usually so that nobody has to park further than three or so houses away to visit. Since it is a 55+ community, I'm sure there will be plenty of retirees with time to tattle-tale to the homeowners' association if anybody breaks the rules - and I'm also sure that there'll be mostly more mature folks around who still know about basic decency and who wouldn't break the rules to start with, anyway.

We had this "neighbor turning in neighbor" thing going on in our neighborhood about 18 to 24 months ago.  One couple, trying to sell their home saw the vehicles parked on the street collecting spiderwebs on the undercarriage as a hindrance. Rather than asking the neighbors to move the vehicles, they called the CHP.  My motor home was parked on the street because I had it listed for sale and it was easier to show it there.  I moved it right away, but others didn't and their vehicles were towed. The ugliest part of this story is, the people who called have a huge motor home with a toy hauler attached that was not only parked on the street, but obstructed traffic.  The officer asked why no one complained and I told him "you just don't do that to your neighbors".

On a side note, I was at the DMV a year later and the person helping me recognized my street name.  She had looked at the house and said although it was very nice, the people were asking way too much for it.  Even after all the "unsightly" vehicles were moved, they weren't able to sell the house.

Thank goodness there is an answer.  What an eye sore those beasts are.  As for parking on the grass.  That is a quick identifier of "trash".

Nancy:  I don't believe Arvin and Norris intersect.

Maybelline; Yes they do intersect. Very close to copes Market.

Highway Patrol will enforce the street parking by tagging the RV's with a 72 hour parking sticker. If the vehicle is still in the same place when the Officer returns then a citation will be issued.

Sheriff's Deputies also perform the same functions for the County Ordinance violations with the same procedure by tagging the vehicle prior to the citation being issued.

All a person has to do is Call for a service request. Just remember that once a complaint has been called about opens the flood gates for equality and enforcement of the County Ordinance codes to enforce All of the parking violations in a neighborhood.

So any and all expired vehicle registrations, vehicles without (2) license plate on the vehicle, vehicles that are abandoned can be towed as well as vehicle not registered and expired (1) year, not parking within 18 inches of a curb, parking across sidewalks and blocking driveways, vehicles parked the wrong way on the street, vehicles left running and unattended, vehicles parked in alleways.

So basically every street in Oildale would be affected by these parking issues. Its just a matter of inviting an Officer to your neck of the Dale for equal enforcement and application of the Ordinance Code.

Witters, I got off topic a little and wasn't talking about your motor home.  If anyone drives down Norris, take a look at the trailer I'm talking about.  It's sort of like a car hauler and is just a old beat up rusty frame, low to the ground with no reflectors on the rear.  Coming around that corner in the dark is an accident looking to happen as it's right ON the corner.  I guess when one happens the law will handle it.  I'm not turning anyone in, I'm just grumbling.

Maybelline, Arvin curves around from Norris to Chester where the bread store is.  The streets in that area all tend to curve around into something and a lot of the houses sit kittywampus to the sun because of it.  I have an old friend who lives on Esther in one of the houses that actually faces east.

 maybelline:  As for parking on the grass.  That is a quick identifier of "trash".   Maybe where you live that is the case. However, our strip of grass has a gazebo and a rose bush on it and there is still room for the RV. As mentioned, the plan was to dig up the grass and pour cement as we were told we could not park on our own grass - so we don't.  Also, we have a gardner who keeps things tidy. Now before anyone gets excited telling me I must be rich to afford a gardner and and RV...........the gardner is a neighbor who has fallen on hard times. He is on disability and can only do minimal things. We pay him a nominal amount - nothing close to what other gardners get - and it helps to keep he and his mom (who moved in w/him to help out) from losing their house.

NANCY:  OOHHHHHH!  OK  I know what kind of trailer you are talking about - it is a car hauler! We had one for when we went on a trip and we towed my car. Since my car is an automatic it had to be trailered.  Oh, and, no the one you are talking about is not ours!!!!

SWRIGHT2: I think the reason they don't do much about most of the "parked" vehicles is because they give a "warning" to move it so if the person moves it two feet it is considered "moved"! 

Now we did receive a "warning" about the 1968 mustang parked in OUR driveway as it was just "sitting" (my husband is rebuilding it) and the city (no neighbor complaints) decided it was an junk. The car has a beautiful paint job - $2,000 - and has all it's tires, just no engine. At any rate, we were told we had to "move it or cover it!!  I let the city idiots know that this car is NOT "junk" and as it sits is worth about $5,000. We did put a cover over it (as we have usually done anyway) to protect the paint. Since our letter to the city - we have had no more citations.

As far as I'm concerned as long as my stuff is not trash and is not a rusted out eyesore and nobody in the neighborhood complains, the city can leave us the hell alone! Our neighbor had an asphalt driveway, granted it was old, but the city TOLD him he HAD to put in a cement driveway if he wanted to park his cars there!!  HOLY COW! The man is single, on a fixed income and works part time to keep afloat - but he had to cough up $2500 for a new driveway!! 

These homes were built in the 50's and are kept up as much as we all can afford. The idiots across the street have a front yard that is a total trash dump and the lady who lives there, with various and sundry KORN relatives is the aunt to one of the KORN guitarists!! Now wouldn't you think they would keep up better then anybody else!?  the people on one side of me have a pool that they let go "green" every winter as they don't want to pay to run the pump when they can't swim in it!!!  Am I going to turn these people in? nope.

OH - KORN is one of those scream and yell bands that has "made it". So we also get to listen to their music - well we listen to the windows vibrating.

Heh Witters, I knew this one wasn't yours since it's on the opposite side of town.  That house was bank owned and one day people moved in and that trailer hasn't been moved since.  They have a driveway  and garage on Norris but choose to park that old rustbucket trailer in a hazardous spot.

Daughter went out of town supposedly for a week and has been gone for over 3 weeks.  She left her car on the street here since she flew out of Bakersfield so I've been waiting for a citation myself.  Maybe I should go look at the windsheild...lol.   She's due in today so it will rectify itself.

When I first moved in this house, the bachelors next door had 9 vehicles parked in their driveway, the lawn, and the street.  I thought I'd moved into a commune.  My neighbor said he was about to go tell them "C'mon guys, I know this is Oildale but......."  I live in a really nice area and it's very noticeable when people let things go.

Oh..and the boys moved away..no more car commune.

Nancy - I stand corrected regarding Arvin and Norris intersecting.  Thanks for the correction.

witterpitters - I stand firm on anything parked on any lawn as an indicator of trash.  I'm not saying that you are just the practice of parkin on the lawn is trashy.

Wow~ interesting things that "bother " folks. My neighbor has one of those truck/motor home deals~ it's been parked on the grass forever,which has died from lack of sun,so problem with pests.I live in the Oleander area towards Oak,nice enough trashy folks ,IMHO.

I have lived here some 30 + years and I just do not call on my neighbors,I will live with them for quite sometime. If something bothers me or them that bad we just talk with each other.Except for the "new guy",who had to downsize(nasty divorce),he has overspent on renovations and has a tendency to call the authorities.There are three of us old-timers on the block,the rest come and go.But while they are here they are neighbors not combatants...but that's just my view.