Crackdown on RV parking advances

By Jim Tortolano

A crackdown on the parking of recreational vehicles on city streets won initial approval from the Garden Grove City Council Tuesday night. On a 5-0 vote – with council members Phat Bui and John O’Neill absent – an ordinance requiring permits for parking RVs was approved for a first reading.

The second and final adoption will go before the council on Aug. 22.

“This only applies to a small number of people,” said Councilman Kris Beard. “It says that the streets are not a parking lot for RVs and boats.”

Under the ordinance– recommended by the city’s traffic commission – residents would be able to apply for up to 12 non-consecutive 72-hour RV parking permits for the sole purpose of loading or unloading before or after travel.

Weekly parking permits will also be available, but no more than six such permits will be allowed in any calendar year. Hookups will be permitted.

Also at Tuesday’s meeting, the council heard reports from the police and fire departments about public safety issues related to the Independence Day period.

The Garden Grove Police Department put on 40 officers to patrol the city and enforce the ban – which carries a $1000 fine – on illegal fireworks. Forty-seven such citations were written by the GGPD, down from 58 in 2016. Of that number, 35 were issued to Garden Grove residents.

In addition to fireworks-related problems, the GGPD reported several issues with reckless driving of vehicles, including a vehicle collision at Chapman Avenue and Valley View Street involving a golf cart-like auto. A DUI arrest was made.

On the fire enforcement side, there were 12 fires, but none of them were related to fireworks. Three hundred pounds of illegal fireworks were confiscated. Reports of the use of illegal pyrotechnics were up 31 percent over the July 1-5 period compared to 2016, and on July 4, the number rose by 84 percent.