Members of the Loxahatchee Groves Town Council said last month that they need to find ways to eliminate the rampant illegal use of recreational vehicles (RVs) on residential properties, but first, the town needs to simplify the RV permitting process.
The council discussed ways to improve the enforcement of RV regulations at a workshop session on Tuesday, March 17.
Before the workshop, town staff presented the council with a new RV program that would make the process simpler and more effective, while making enforcement easier.
The revised program categorizes RVs as either unoccupied or occupied, with the number of RVs allowed being determined by acreage and residency. Staff also proposed a sticker system to show how vehicles have been categorized.
However, the council was hesitant to approve the new program and decided to table the matter for an additional workshop so they could have in-depth discussions on it.
The goal of council members is to encourage compliance. They explained that one key issue is dealing with RVs that are not up to code, and the current program is too complicated to deal with this.
“It has always been my contention that we need to incentivize people to comply, and compliance should be simple at the outset,” Councilwoman Lisa El-Ramey said. “The compliance has always been a little onerous.”
After throwing several ideas around, the council struggled to pinpoint concrete ways to address RVs that are not compliant.
“What we’re trying to eliminate is the illegal RV parks,” Mayor Anita Kane said. “We’ve had a lot of discussion tonight, but I don’t see a clear path.”
They then settled on creating specific criteria for renting land where RVs will stay and rules they need to abide by. The council agreed that to have an RV on a property, the land has to have a permanent resident and needs to be homesteaded. They scrapped the sticker system. Instead, residents would only need to pay a $50 flat fee per slot and submit an affidavit stating how many slots will be used, the dates they will be occupied, and how the RV is going to use electricity and dispose of waste.
Property owners will also be allowed to have someone living in a caretaker’s quarters, groom’s quarters or construction trailer for up to one year with permitted septic and electric facilities, but the property needs to be at least 80 percent used as a farm.
“I think it’s a good kickoff,” Councilman Paul Coleman said. “It’s a good starting point.”
Council members will consider an ordinance based on the discussion at the workshop at a later date.
The town passed its first ordinance governing RVs in 2020, but there have been significant problems regarding compliance and enforcement. Several attempts have been made to update the RV rules, but none have led to final ordinances.
In other business, the town was awarded a FEMA Stormwater Master Plan Project Grant with a total federal share of $180,000. The council is expected to consider accepting the grant and allocating a $60,000 share to conduct a study on the town’s water quality, drainage and infrastructure. Kane said she hopes that this will be the first step toward receiving federal funds to fix major structural issues in the town.
