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CodyClassB's avatar
CodyClassB
Explorer II
Jul 28, 2018

Balboa Island, Newport beach, California

Just a thought. Please do not be mad.

Public parking at Balboa Island, Newport beach, California allows overnight parking. Vehicles may park up to 7 days without exiting the lot, but they do not allow overnight Camping/Sleeping in Cars or RV's.

I understand the restriction is in place to prevent people from partying in the parking lot overnight, but if you just quietly close your RV door, turn off the light and sleep until the morning. What can they do about it? :) Have you done this before?

It seems to me that hotel owners in the area want you to pay for RV parking and sleep in their hotels.

Restrictions here:
https://www.newportbeachca.gov/i-am-a/visitor/parking/city-parking-lots-and-metered-parking
  • If the rv is in the lot with no lights on and slides are not out, how would anyone know if you were sleeping in it or if the rv is just parked?
  • CodyClassB wrote:

    Is that safety reason or hotel owners' pressure :) ?


    Having grown up not far from there, my guess is safety. First just your basic "know your neighbors" concern about folks sleeping in areas where there are no patrols.

    But the more likely reason is tied to homelessness being a very big challenge in California. There are areas where folks are using RVs as lodging of (nearly) last resort and they often ignore regulations related to sanitation (dumping their tanks). Those same folks often have mental health and substance abuse problems.

    If you want to pay through the nose, the Newport Dunes has a very nice RV CG. My in-laws spent a lot of time there about 20 years ago.
  • Rice,

    Thank you for taking the time to read and reply to the post. I wasn't being foolish nor did I wanted to cheat on the system. I just found that it is a little strange that they allow cars/RV to park overnight up to 7 days, but they do not allow to sleep or camp in the car/rv.

    Is that safety reason or hotel owners' pressure :) ?
  • Rice's avatar
    Rice
    Explorer III
    azdryheat wrote:
    Not sure what parking lot you're referring to on Balboa as I didn't think there was one. But, sure, park your Class C and let us know if the cops roust you in the middle of the night. Those multi-million dollar home owners might not want an RV parked out front.

    If you look at the link he posted, you'll see that there are two parking lots that allow vehicles to park for seven days without leaving the lot. So it won't be in front of someone's multi-million dollar home.

    bikendan wrote:
    having been there many times, i'll bet you money that if you parked your RV there overnight, the tow truck or police will be waking you up real quick.
    those wealthy owners will drop a dime on you, in a heartbeat.

    But parking overnight is allowed in these lots. The police might be knocking on the door to see if anybody's in there "camping," but I don't see any basis for towing.

    To the OP: I'm sure you'll get better information about this sort of thing on vandweller sites and the like, where people stealth camp all the time. I'm sure there are reports about what encounters with the cops are like when someone tries to get away with staying in a vehicle where it's not permitted.
  • having been there many times, i'll bet you money that if you parked your RV there overnight, the tow truck or police will be waking you up real quick.
    those wealthy owners will drop a dime on you, in a heartbeat.

    i think you're foolish to think you could get away with it.
  • Not sure what parking lot you're referring to on Balboa as I didn't think there was one. But, sure, park your Class C and let us know if the cops roust you in the middle of the night. Those multi-million dollar home owners might not want an RV parked out front.

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