The City of Goleta may change parking rules for certain streets after receiving several complaints related to RVs and other oversized vehicles parking overnight.
The Goleta Ordinance Review Standing Committee is scheduled to meet at 1 p.m. Tuesday to consider changes. According to the agenda, the city has received more than 30 requests for service and more than 100 emails since August 2023 about oversized vehicles parking on Pacific Oaks and Phelps roads.
“While residents are concerned about a growing trend of people sleeping in their vehicles at night, the biggest concerns were expressed about large recreational vehicles parking in violation of current city ordinances,” the staff report said.
“The complaints of residents have described that the RVs create nuisances to the community in the form of loud noise, significant trash production, exhaust from idling engines, blocking of views, public sex or nudity observed by nearby residents, and reduced parking availability for standard vehicles in a residentially zoned area.”
The issue was brought up in a public forum held by the Homelessness Issues Standing Committee in November, but the city decided that the Ordinance Committee would be the best venue to address it, saying it relates more to a parking issue than a homelessness issue.
Both of the streets where the parking changes are being considered are used for resident overflow parking and parking for recreational use at Girsh Park. Phelps Road is also used by people at UCSB and Goleta open space areas, and commercial vehicles often park on Pacific Oaks Road.
The city already has some ordinances related to RV parking — such as the short-term oversized vehicle parking permit and an ordinance restricting large vehicle and trailer parking on weekdays between 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. — but the staff report states that those are “inadequate to fully address the issue.”
Some of the proposed resolutions set to be discussed Tuesday include posting “no parking any time” signage and red curb along Phelps Road between Pacific Oaks Road and Cannon Green Drive, and establishing a no parking zone on Pacific Oaks Road for all large vehicles.
For this purpose, the city defines large vehicles as any vehicle, or a combination of connected vehicles or trailers, that exceeds 25 feet in length, 80 inches in width or 82 inches in height.
The Goleta Ordinance Review Standing Committee will make recommendations that go to the Goleta City Council for a decision at a later date.
Tuesday’s meeting will take place in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 130 Cremona Drive. Community members can provide public comment. People also can participate in or watch the meeting through Zoom. Information to do so is available on the agenda for the meeting here.
One way that cities have tried to help people living in their vehicles has been the Safe Parking Program run by New Beginnings. The program has 154 spaces in 26 parking lots throughout Santa Barbara, Goleta and other nearby areas that individuals or families living in their vehicles can use to park safely overnight. Information about the program is available here.