Complaints about RVs may lead to broader rules
Council may permit side yard parking of RVs, boats
BY LAYLI WHYTE
Staff Writer

EATONTOWN - The result of some complaints from residents concerning recreational vehicles parked on residential property may result in broader, rather than stricter, zoning laws for RV and boat owners.

At last week's workshop meeting of the Borough Council, more than 20 RV and boat owners were in attendance to discuss the possible implications of complaints registered with the borough Zoning Board Office.

According to Borough Attorney Gene Anthony, the borough's zoning officer, Peggy Ciok, received "a lot" of complaints recently from residents about the size and location of some RVs in the borough.

Anthony said the borough's ordinance states that RVs and boats must be parked in the rear yard of a property, and that no allowance is made for parking the vehicles in a side yard.

Councilman Theodore Lewis said he would prefer the ordinance to allow such vehicles to be parked in the side yard as well, stating that many of the older homes in the borough do not have the space to pull a large vehicle through to the back.

Anthony explained that although the rules that govern RVs are contained in the land use ordinance, not in the borough's code enforcement ordinance, the Borough Planning Board opted to pass the matter on to the council for its recommendation.

Anthony said the current land use rules concerning RVs only deal with the location where such vehicles may be stowed, and that the ordinance does not address any required screening of the vehicles or state any size limitations.

After looking through ordinances dealing with RVs throughout the state, Anthony said he found a variety of regulations.

"There were a couple of elements that were common to all of them," he said. "Most ordinances deal with the location of RVs, and state that at least the vehicle cannot be parked in the front yard. Some are concerned about the length of the vehicles. Some prohibit vehicles that are 18 feet or more or 22 feet or more."

Mike Bausenwein, Judy Road, said those size restrictions would be difficult to comply with.

"To people who don't own an RV," he said, "18 feet may sound like it's big. It's not; it's the size of a car."

Bausenwein said that his RV is 31 feet long, and he has enough property so that he can pull it to the rear of his property. He said he doesn't want to see any restrictions added to the ordinance.

"We don't live in a town dotted with million dollar homes," he said. "This is a working-class town and this is a working-class pastime. If we're required to store our vehicles off our property because they're too big, it makes a difference in our insurance and it welcomes break-ins. My RV is in my backyard and I think my neighbor is the one who complained the most.

"I bought my RV in 2005 for $61,000. It's not a trash heap," he said. "If this whole thing is purely based on aesthetics, I don't think that's right."

Mayor Gerald Tarantolo said that Bausenwein complies with the ordinance as it stands now, and that RV owners who live on property that does not permit them to drive their vehicle to the rear, or even side yards, could apply to the Zoning Board and ask for relief.

Bausenwein said that he has attempted to find out the actual number of complaints issued to the Zoning Board Office and how many people were doing the complaining, but he said he had not been able to get that information.

Tarantolo agreed that would be useful information to have.

"I don't want to do anything," he said, "until we find out more about these complaints."

Councilwoman Joyce Englehart said she would want to see the complaints in a written statement, and Councilman Charles DaVis said that he doesn't believe a problem really exists.

"I think it's a real problem that we have to legislate what appears to be a nonproblem," said DaVis. "We haven't heard that anyone has been harmed. If all these people who complained can do for a quality of life is look out the window and be upset, then they need a life."