San Diego, California – The San Diego Police Department has been busy this summer trying to keep beach parking under control. Between July 2 and Aug. 15, officers issued around 1,500 tickets to vehicles illegally parked near the shoreline. Nearly a third of those — close to 500 — were tied to oversized recreational vehicles or trailers violating the city’s overnight parking ordinance.
That ordinance, which has been on the books for years, bars oversized vehicles more than 27 feet long or 7 feet tall from parking on city streets between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. without a permit. It’s aimed at keeping narrow beach roads clear and making sure residents can get in and out of their neighborhoods safely.
But the reality is that the ordinance often collides with a larger problem: people living in their vehicles. Officers say that’s been the case in beach communities this summer, where cars and RVs sometimes sit in the same spot for weeks or months. “It is a large complaint right now about the beach communities and people just living in a parking spot for months at a time,” SDPD Sergeant Michael Wallace said…