Zoning that restricts RV use on your own land

MrWizard wrote:
I'll give you a good laugh
2012 went back to Indiana to visit family
I was parked in front of my brother's place
He left for the July 4th week, family vacation
New Neighbor across the street called the cops and complained
The small town where I grew up has an ordinance against campers on the street
So we moved to the local state park
My brother comes home finds out what happen, talks to the powers that be
And finds out any place on property off street is legal
He trimmed the biggest limb on his biggest tree
And we spent 6 weeks parked on his front lawn in full view of his neighbor
My brother died 3 months later of his colon cancer
He didn't give a **** what the new neighbor across the street thought
He lived there almost 30 years, he was only 62.. I'm sorry he gone
But we had a great visit and was glad to see him before he passed
Ill considerate people are the reason for most zoning regulations
Know the the regs, before you buy and watch your local officials carefully after you buy,
Stay involved in you community

I don't get the 'good laugh'
If my neighbor was gone and an RV parked on the street in front of it with people I don't recognize living in it, I'd have called the cops too. Good for him and your brother should have thanked him for watching out. Too many tweekers in RV's staking out these days. We get 'em out here in our neck of the woods with regularity.

I also don't see the humor in your brother's response; to damage his own property to spite the neighbor. I suppose the true nature and personality of a man comes through when they have a terminal illness and the reality of mortality slams home. Some try to add more meaning to their existence and some don't give a **** about neighbors or anyone else, realizing the Grim Reaper will beat the Bureaucrat in taking action to stop 'em. Grace and dignity versus in-your-face and up yours.

Sorry for your loss.

Glad you talked to someone official, we own 35 acres in Huerfano county as well, and camp there all the time. Our covenants in our area have restrictions on camping, but I have never seen one from the county in the 15 years we have owned there. Guess ignorance is bliss...

The RV club called "The Escapees" may help in something like this. You have to join this organization. The best RV club anywhere!
They have helped people in the past when city or county try's to stop people from storing their RVs on their own property.
I understand about Colorado. We lived there for many years. In unincorporated Elbert County.
Did not have a problem there but knew many people had to fight Aurora, even way out past the city!
Whoever is making this difficult..... storing RVs on their owner's country property do not understand RVing or that lifestyle.

Beautiful!

The view out the RV window at the Western boundary of the property, a square that is @ 1/4 mile on each side.

glennts wrote:
Good news... finally got to talk with the land use regulator and he said the magic words " It's your land, it's your RV... you can do what you want ". The camping rules will apply to occupying the RV ie: 7 days out of 30, 30 days out of a year. So, I can put up a small cabin to sleep in and park the RV and I'm good.
Thank you all for your comments.

Always best to take the high road.
Glad to hear you came to a reasonable solution that will work for yourself and the community.

glennts wrote:
Good news... finally got to talk with the land use regulator and he said the magic words " It's your land, it's your RV... you can do what you want ". The camping rules will apply to occupying the RV ie: 7 days out of 30, 30 days out of a year. So, I can put up a small cabin to sleep in and park the RV and I'm good.
Thank you all for your comments.

That is great news!

It doesn't matter what the law says, it matters what they enforce :).

Ring VS Storing--Zoning

"I am not particularly interested in what the law is BUT all I really want to know is what the penalty is" If the fine is minimal or less then what it would cost you to store it some where, pay the fine and get on with your RVing on your property:):)

Good news... finally got to talk with the land use regulator and he said the magic words " It's your land, it's your RV... you can do what you want ". The camping rules will apply to occupying the RV ie: 7 days out of 30, 30 days out of a year. So, I can put up a small cabin to sleep in and park the RV and I'm good.
Thank you all for your comments.

glennts wrote:
Thanks for the replies. I am going to first try the storing angle and will build a small cabin of 120 sq ft, avoiding building permit requirements, and claim that is where I stay and not the RV. Although I will be running the RV generator and solar power into the cabin, I hope they won't insist that constitutes RV camping use. There may also be a work around in that if you get a septic and building permit you can then get a temporary occupancy permit for the RV that will last the term of the building permits (one year). If you don't build you can then extend for another year for $29. The problem with this is assuming you can extend off into the future, not to mention the several thousand dollars you'll expend getting the building permits. There is a section in the regulations that defines "camping unit" as a pick up camper, travel trailer or RV designed for and used specifically for recreational purposes. Because I frequently do gate watchman work, it can be argued that the RV is a work vehicle, a necessary requirement for the job, and not used as a recreational vehicle. Don't know if that line of reasoning will fly but it's all I got right now. The property is over an hour from the regulators and there is very little development here, zoned agricultural, so if I can stay under their radar I may be able to get in a few Summers enjoyment before it gets ugly.

If you already own the property, you may as well give it a try. Probably success or failure of this venture is dependent on how close the nearest neighbor is (or their attitudes), who can observe what's going on..officials etc. It may not be easy for a third party to establish how often the RV is occupied, VS stored. My suggestion would be to try to keep as much out of sight as possible. If you did get caught I doubt the initial consequences would be of much impact for simply occupying the RV too much.