E Wenatchee City Council Considers Street Parking For RVs, Boats

At their meeting this week, the East Wenatchee City Council became deadlocked over what to do about RV's and boat trailers taking up space along city streets. 

Those vehicles are currently prohibited in the city right of way, but one city council member has asked for an allowance of 48-hours so residents can prepare those vehicles for summertime use or wintertime storage. 

East Wenatchee Police Chief Rick Johnson said the allowance would be difficult to enforce because police don't have the GPS technology to keep track of exactly where vehicles are parked electronically, and state law bars them from marking up tires with chalk.  

"With the inability to mark it with GPS, and not being able to mark it, like chalk it, like it was done in an old school way, there would be some real difficulties in enforcing that," said Crown. 

City Councilor Robert Tidd is behind the 48-hour proposal, and said the allowance is needed because residents, under current statute, would be breaking the law the moment they parked the vehicle on a city street. 

Johnson suggested they could simply extend the department’s current practice. 

“As a practice it is, A, your vehicle needs to be moved, it’s in violation of this pleasure vehicle ordinance, we’ll be back in a couple of days to check,” Crown said. “And we give people one to two days to move them.” 

He said they do enforce the prohibition if a recreational vehicle is parked in a hazardous way.    

Crown acknowledged the police do get calls from people asking for RV’s or boat trailers to be removed. 

Councilor Tidd, who was conducting the city council meeting as the Mayor Pro Tempore, moved to pass his proposal. 

Councilors seemed torn about the proper approach to the issue. A hand vote showed a 3-3 tie as one of the seven city council members was absent. 

After consulting with the city attorney, the council tabled the proposal and will revisit the issue at their meeting later this month.