Salinas City Council votes 4-3 to ban oversized vehicles and RVs on city streets

On June 18, a day before the Salinas City Council met to vote on an ordinance to ban the parking of oversized vehicles, Salinas Councilmember Tony Barrera and Monterey County Homeless Union representative Wes White met with community members to discuss the issue.

The ordinance, if passed, would ban vehicles in excess of 20-feet long and 7-feet tall from parking in city-owned streets. While council members like Kimbley Craig, Tony Villegas and Steve McShane (who was present at the June 18 meeting) have said the proposed ordinance came about due to a high volume of complaints, and out of a concern of public safety, many saw it as a way to rid the city of some of its homeless population, specifically those living in vehicles. 

The conversation is similar to the one that occurred last summer when the county moved to rid RVs parked on Lapis Road, which had become a popular defacto RV camp.

The county swept through the road, giving 30 days for campers to move on. The county later set-up a safe parking program in front of County Supervisor Jane Parker's office in Marina in an effort to mitigate RVs from migrating elsewhere. 

But Salinas' oversized vehicle ordinance didn't come with a similar safe parking program. And the question for many who showed up the June 18 meeting, from the homeless, to Veteran Transition Center volunteers, and to Salinas First United Methodist Church pastor Steve Lundin was: "Where are they supposed to go?"

Though McShane praised the community for their presence, and Barrera thanked those who spoke for their "ideas and solutions," the ordinance passed the next day on a 4-3 vote at the June 19 Salinas City Council meeting. 

The meeting had more than two hours of debate and public comment on the issue, and council members Craig, McShane, Villegas and Mayor Joe Gunter argued in favor of the ordinance. They largely stuck to the narrative of public safety, stating that illegal dumping of trash and sewage was a health hazard.

City Manager Ray Corpuz confirmed that acts of illegal dumping per incident is a $10,000 fine. 

The group also defended that the ordinance was not aimed at just homeless people. "Rich or poor," said Gunter "We're enforcing this on everyone."

The majority of those who spoke in public comment had a different understanding. While many agreed that oversized vehicles created certain safety hazards, many criticized the ordinance for tackling too many issues at once. 

Two businesswomen of towing companies spoke out and said that it would affect their businesses. Tow trucks easily exceed the 20-feet in length and seven-feet in height requirement stated in the ordinance. One owner also expressed that tow truck drivers also often choose to park near their home for on-call shifts. 

"We are considered emergency vehicles," she said, noting that she and her drivers are require to be on the scene in less than 45 minutes when called by law enforcement. An opposing Salinas resident voiced that she viewed tow trucks parking on residential streets as "free advertising."

Others argued that rolling up RVs into the ordinance was yet another thinly veiled disguise to rid Salinas of its growing homeless population. And Councilmember Scott Davis said that much of what is in the ordinance, like dumping, illegal parking and driving unregistered vehicles was already enforceable code.

"We already have the rules and regulations," said Davis. 

In the end, Craig, McShane, Villegas and Gunter stuck to their guns and voted yes on the ordinance, while council members Barrera, Davis and Gloria De La Rosa voted no. The ordinance passed as is, with direction to "discuss" the homeless issue in the future.