The Loxahatchee Groves Town Council is once again overhauling its proposed recreational vehicle (RV) program.
At a workshop meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 18, the council discussed another set of changes to the program with the same goal of simplifying the process and improving enforcement.
Town leaders for months have been trying to revamp the existing RV program. Council members, staff and advisory boards have made multiple revisions to it, but none have satisfied concerns.
“There appears to be some kind of disconnect,” Councilwoman Anita Kane said. “We are looking to simplify this RV program… [make it] user friendly, easy for people to comply with so that they will actually comply, and I read none of that in here.”
The currently proposed version of the program allows RVs only on property in agricultural residential zoning districts; requires the property to have a principal residential dwelling that is homesteaded, unless it has a bona fide agricultural use; prohibits RVs on vacant land; limits an occupied RV to six months during certain parts of the year; and allows one RV on properties under two acres and two RVs on properties two acres or more.
Those interested in having an occupied RV on their property would require a town permit and at least one inspection. Occupied RVs must also have permitted electrical, water and wastewater connections.
Council members discussed reducing the red tape and removing provisions that complicated the program. They also edited the language to reorient the ordinance so enforcement would be more complaint-driven.
Proposed changes include: taking out the specific six-month occupancy window and allowing it to be within any six months in the year; removing that parked RVs be included in a lease agreement; requiring a parked RV to be owned or leased by the property’s owner or tenant; residents already in compliance with the existing ordinance before it is put in place should be exempted from refiling for a new permit; taking out the provision requiring the applicant to provide occupant information through a form of governmental ID; and prohibiting the use of bunkhouses.
Councilman Paul Coleman also suggested including a definitions section in the ordinance to make certain aspects of compliance clearer.
Those who gave public comments on the issue were displeased about how the ordinance has undergone several changes.
Some residents explained that they believe the council is still making things too complicated by continually revising its RV program.
“Can we make this simple, necessary and complaint-driven?” said Tracy Raflowitz, who is also chair of the town’s Finance Advisory & Audit Committee. “We’ve been talking about RVs for so darn long.”
Coleman added that they are trying to make the program complaint-driven, but the ordinance language needs to be specific and intentional to make sure they can promote compliance.
“Unfortunately, you have to give stipulations,” he said. “You can’t give a five-item list of rules and call it a day.”
The ordinance will be revised by staff with the council’s suggestions and presented again for consideration. No information has been released as to when the matter will be voted on at a future council meeting.
In other business, the council directed the town’s Unified Land Development Code Review Committee to review a proposed Nuisance Letter and Nuisance Abatement Program. Town staff created a courtesy nuisance letter and a nuisance abatement notice to address nuisance conditions that impact public safety, public rights-of-way and local infrastructure. The committee will make recommendations on the program and the enforcement process for the council’s consideration at a future meeting.
