RV's not welcome in Denton Texas

Schertz wrote:
Arrived in Denton Texas 3 days ago and parked in front of family members home for my wife to receive daily chemotherapy and radiation nearby.

Denton city police, without knocking on the door, placed a 48 hour tow sticker on the side window AND a $50.00 parking citation.

I was not aware of Denton's parking statue. Fortunately, many communities do allow short term parking.

Notwithstanding your reasons for being in Denton it's still your responsibility to be aware of any parking restrictions wherever you may plan to leave your rig for a period of time. Here in my own city street parking is governed by city bylaw, enforcement is a city function, and has nothing to do with the police which have far better ways to utilize their valuable resources. As far as "knocking on the door is concerned" I last year was ticketed for having my truck / trailer blocking the sidewalk after hitching up and briefly going inside the house to retrieve the dog, grab my phone, and double check everything was locked up properly. Annoying, but technically I was in violation even though common sense says if I'm hitching up then I am going to be transgressing the sidewalk, even briefly. When I paid the fine at city hall I asked why the parking officer couldn't have simply knocked on the door to ask how long I was going to be ... the answer, he legally can't cross on to my property and this operating procedure has been put in place to avoid any possibility of confrontation. Even if I hadn't been inside the house when the officer pulled up he technically could still have ticketed me - dumb, but those are the rules. In your case you broke the rule(s) so you have to pay the penalty, regardless of why you were there.

Matt_Colie wrote:

azdryheat wrote:
Here's the Denton law. You're not allowed to park an RV in a residential area:

Sec. 18-92.1. - Parking nuisances.
(a) It shall be unlawful for a person to park or store or allow another to park or store a recreational vehicle, travel trailer, boat or boat trailer, tow truck, truck, truck-tractor, pull trailer, semi-trailer or any vehicle other than a passenger car on any public right-of-way in any residential zoned district.

Azdryheat was nice enough to quote the statue, but there may be a hole in it. One needs to get into the city and state codes to find out if there is a legal definition of "Recreational Vehicle". My coach is on a passenger car registration. This is true of many states. Then it is up to them to prove it is not.

Matt

I suspect the registration would not be what they take to determine if it's a passenger car.

The statute is remarkably strict. Parking a motorcycle on the street in a residential neighborhood is clearly forbidden. Pickup trucks may also be disqualified, though I'd venture they make up a substantial portion of the cars (broadly speaking) in Texas.

Matt_Colie wrote:

azdryheat wrote:
Here's the Denton law. You're not allowed to park an RV in a residential area:

Sec. 18-92.1. - Parking nuisances.
(a) It shall be unlawful for a person to park or store or allow another to park or store a recreational vehicle, travel trailer, boat or boat trailer, tow truck, truck, truck-tractor, pull trailer, semi-trailer or any vehicle other than a passenger car on any public right-of-way in any residential zoned district.

Azdryheat was nice enough to quote the statue, but there may be a hole in it. One needs to get into the city and state codes to find out if there is a legal definition of "Recreational Vehicle". My coach is on a passenger car registration. This is true of many states. Then it is up to them to prove it is not.

Matt

Spending a day in court, with a fifty fifty chance of winning at best, where the judge would have the ability to raise the fine, sure isn't worth fifty bucks to me. And if you don't pay the fine, you might get to cool your heels in the local jail, while your rig is towed to the impound lot, while they sort out your failure to appear warrant.
You could pay a good attorney a whole lot of money and improve that 50/50 chance, but that is a pretty high cost for defending a "principle" you really don't even hold because you yourself said you actually have "a coach with a passenger car registration". The OP should accept the fact that they violated the city ordinance and pay the fine.

Matt_Colie wrote:


Azdryheat was nice enough to quote the statue, but there may be a hole in it. One needs to get into the city and state codes to find out if there is a legal definition of "Recreational Vehicle". My coach is on a passenger car registration. This is true of many states. Then it is up to them to prove it is not.

Matt

I get it, but let us know how that turns out lol............Having had went into the squared circle with city hall once or twice I have found it seldom turns out well.

Hospitals in my area allow RV parking - worth a call. I would also call the police and explain your situation - they may not rescind the ticket but they may leave you alone for the rest of your stay.

wowens79 wrote:
First off, prayers for your wife!!

Like others have said, check with the hospital. We have a Cancer Treatment Centers of America location in my town, and they have a sites that I believe are full hookups.

That is SO fab that places like CTCA takes all travelers into the mix of what it takes to seek help along with hosp. in general. Thank goodness for smart folks :)

First off, prayers for your wife!!

Like others have said, check with the hospital. We have a Cancer Treatment Centers of America location in my town, and they have a sites that I believe are full hookups.

Ralph Cramden wrote:

HadEnough wrote:
There are thousands of towns with these same RV laws. No overnight street parking for RVs is quite common throughout the USA.

I often wonder why I live in a small backwater podunk borough/township of about 400 people, where I can burn a tire, rebuild a car in the yard, cut down a tree, park my RV on the street, or paint my house fluorescent chartreuse if I want to. Oh the humanity.

I too live in a small town. We often build fires in the backyard. My TT is under a cover in the backyard. My son has often worked on his car in the driveway, I have changed my oil in the drive way. there are time I do park in the road in front of my house. But NEVER at night. Drunks have been known to run over parked cars, and folks, Drunks are every where.

I would NEVER live in a HOA neighborhood. My house, my rules

azdryheat wrote:
Here's the Denton law. You're not allowed to park an RV in a residential area:

Sec. 18-92.1. - Parking nuisances.
(a) It shall be unlawful for a person to park or store or allow another to park or store a recreational vehicle, travel trailer, boat or boat trailer, tow truck, truck, truck-tractor, pull trailer, semi-trailer or any vehicle other than a passenger car on any public right-of-way in any residential zoned district.

Azdryheat was nice enough to quote the statue, but there may be a hole in it. One needs to get into the city and state codes to find out if there is a legal definition of "Recreational Vehicle". My coach is on a passenger car registration. This is true of many states. Then it is up to them to prove it is not.

Matt

Stop in at the police station and as explain your situation, asking for a waiver- there's usually an appeals process as the chief has latitude. BoondockersWelcome, an area business' parking lot, a storage place, etc. Are options on where to park temporarily. Most towns around Chicago have similar rules but they vary from one to the next. I've seen hospitals with dedicated spots for patient families as well, which is a great idea.

Our prayers with your family.