Zoning Law

[cxr133]

Hi Guys,


i tried doing a search here and a google search and cant seem to find the information i need. I own my house in SoCal , Northridge Area.
in my backyard i have a RV pad and it is off an alley.

Are they laws against having a sick relative living in a 5th wheel fulltime? and running electric, water. Are there zoning law against this?

The only thing i did find was that i can maybe get a sewer hookup if i label it a clean out plug, correct?

alot of my neighbors have done garage conversions. but i need my garage space.

Thanks in advance

[Naio]

That's a very good point, about the word of mouth between different people who work for the county, etc.

[Eric_Lisa]

Naio wrote:
...Rural areas I have dealt with basically don't have land use codes that affect this sort of thing. They have building codes, but that's not what we're talking about in this thread...

Rural living definitely has more freedom, but consequently takes more tolerance. If I want to target practice on my land on a Sunday afternoon, my neighbors can't say a darn thing about it. Similarly if their dogs are barking at the moon at 3am, I can't say anything either.

The tolerance comes when I invite the neighbors over for some Sunday afternoon target practice & BBQ, during which I suggest they keep their dogs inside whenever there is a full moon. I think I know my rural neighbors much better than when I lived in suburbia, and that does help the tolerance and understanding as well.

As for rural code enforcement... I think they are really looking at two primary concerns. 1) Is the property owner doing something with their land which will negatively impact the land around it? Dumping pollutants in a stream for example. 2) And can emergency services get where they need to go? Is the road too steep? Is there a place where a fire truck could turn around if they had to? That sort of thing.

I don't even think code enforcement would do anything themselves if they saw new construction. They would, however, mention it to their buddies in the tax assessor & building inspector offices. One hand of government watches out for the other. There is a reason a closed gate exists at the bottom of my driveway.

-Eric

[Naio]

My friend is definitely of the look-the-other-way variety.

As far as two types of code enforcers, maybe that is a rural or urban thing. I have only dealt with inspectors in urban areas, and the ones I'm familiar with all have a policy that they don't go around looking for violations. They only go out when someone reports something. And while they are out, even if they see if a violation across the street they ignore it unless someone complains. It's more of a community standard than a letter of the law approach, I guess.

Rural areas I have dealt with basically don't have land use codes that affect this sort of thing. They have building codes, but that's not what we're talking about in this thread.

I suppose I could imagine a rural area with complicated land use codes and inspectors who were bored enough to drive around looking for violations :-). It's not something I have encountered.

[Eric_Lisa]

aftermath wrote:
The responses to the OP are quite interesting. For the "better to ask forgiveness than permission" team, I find it sad that our culture has bred many who willingly pay no attention/respect for the laws....

Just to be clear... You are referring to laws that dictate what you can and cannot do with your own private property. Not laws pertaining to public places like 'don't litter' or 'no speeding'. Some people believe the government is overreaching and choose not to adhere to those laws which they find oppressive to their personal freedom.

Naio wrote:
...First of all, unbeknownst to me, my friend was in a bit of war with the neighbors and inspectors before I got there...

That is the key right there. There are two types of code enforcers. If the department is overstaffed, there are the types which need to justify their jobs. So they will drive around and make sure your grass is not too long and your sidewalks are not cracked. Then there is the other, more common, type. These are lazy government employees who are content to be the big fish in their tiny ponds. They do not want to go out and have to do actual work....unless someone complains, in which case it is an official duty.

Is the OP on a good relationship with their neighbors? Are the neighbors likely to complain if a low profile is kept?

The other side of the coin... Are the neighbors doing something that is technically a code violation? Did the OP call them in? Hopefully not. That is how these things escalate and get out of control. If you want a little bit of 'look the other way', you must be willing to first do so yourself.

My $.02
-Eric

[4x4van]

No one here can tell the OP whether he can or cannot (legally) do what he wants to do. He must go down to City Hall and find out. Get the specific municipal codes that apply. In my city, while parking an RV is legal, living in one is not. No utility hookups are allowed, either, other than a single electrical cord to charge the battery for 24 hours prior to use.

[time2roll]

Easier to ask forgiveness than permission. Are your neighbors going to turn you in?
You would just get a comply notice, no jail time.

[BigRabbitMan]

He lives in a city. No septic system!

[C_Schomer]

Whether or not you ask permission, I'd want to know if I were hurting my own system with the extra load. Your county will have a limit for your tank size. They usually go by number of bedrooms, fixtures or such to guesstimate the max load the system will have. The actual number of people on the system would be the most important thing, in your case. Also , bigger tanks will handle more. If you don't know the tank size, you can measure the depth and ask a tank builder. Then your codes will tell you how much house it can handle, in terms of fixtures, bedrooms etc.
FWIW, I had a 4 BR 1999 house in Az. And the code at the time it was built only called for a 1250 gal tank. I now have a 3 BR house in Co. and it took a 1500 gal tank... Codes change. In Az., I ask a county inspector about adding a rv dump to that 4 BR system with only two people in the house. He said, 'do it'. Craig

[jfkmk]

Naio wrote:
I spent the better part of two years in a friend's driveway in SoCal. I wasn't in your exact jurisdiction, but I can tell you about my experience.

First of all, unbeknownst to me, my friend was in a bit of war with the neighbors and inspectors before I got there. He had lived in the neighborhood all his life, and it was now in the middle of being gentrified. People didn't like his non-traditional front yard. When I got there with my van, it was just another thing for them to complain about.

Not sure what you mean regarding a “non-traditional front yard”, but having someone living in a van in the driveway has a definite negative impact on the surrounding house values. As someone who worked very hard to purchase my house, and work hard to maintain it, I’d be pretty pi$$ed if my neighbor had someone living in a van in the driveway.

[spoon059]

cxr133 wrote:
How do I find out what the local laws are. My goggle fu cant find out which number to call and los angeles is a big city im sure ill be transferred around.


not even sure what im supoosed to be googling at this point.

nobody else has looked into this?

I searched based upon your address. You'll be fine.

[jdc1]

I would ask my neighbors how they feel about what you are proposing, then call your city planning department if those neighbors don't mind. A good neighbor is pretty important.

[Naio]

I spent the better part of two years in a friend's driveway in SoCal. I wasn't in your exact jurisdiction, but I can tell you about my experience.

First of all, unbeknownst to me, my friend was in a bit of war with the neighbors and inspectors before I got there. He had lived in the neighborhood all his life, and it was now in the middle of being gentrified. People didn't like his non-traditional front yard. When I got there with my van, it was just another thing for them to complain about.

The good news is, the inspectors give you a notice before they come out. And if they find something they don't like, they give you a chance to fix it. Then they set a date to come out for re-inspection. They don't technically fine you if you fix the problem, but they do charge an inspection fee, which comes down to the same thing.

They can't really prove you're living in something if you say you are not. So what they objected to about my van was the electrical cord and water hose. They said that this was an extension cord used as permanent electrical wiring, and a hose as permanent plumbing. Pretty silly since I had no intention of being there permanently. But the cure was just too unhook the electricity and the water before they came out for the next inspection. All of this of course took countless hours of phone calls. I don't mean to make it sound simple. But it did end up being successful.

But then the neighbors tried another tack. Apparently in the city where we were, it was technically illegal to park in a driveway rather than inside a garage. Of course every house on the street had one or two cars parked in the driveway. My van was not unusual in that way. But when a neighbor filed a complaint based on this obscure law, there was nothing I could do.

I pointed out to the inspector that all the other houses had cars parked in the driveway, but he just said no one had complained about them. I didn't want to get in a complaint war, so I left.

[aftermath]

The responses to the OP are quite interesting. For the "better to ask forgiveness than permission" team, I find it sad that our culture has bred many who willingly pay no attention/respect for the laws. If you go forward in breaking the law you "might" not get penalized but you will have to stop. This could indeed cause a lot of trouble for the person staying in the trailer. Also, you can't "live" in the trailer unless you hook up to a sewer line. If you follow your local building codes you will find out soon enough if this will be allowed where you live. Of course, if you are not willing to follow the codes for the sewer hook up then you can simply do what you want to do. Forget the laws and codes.

Secondly, I couldn't find any information on line, so what am I to do?
How about going down to your city hall and asking questions like we used to do just after arriving here in covered wagons? You could call and get the info but granted, the whole process of waiting to be connected is a bit trying.

I do think you can get the information you want by talking to someone. I doubt that you would have to produce information about your exact location if you want to keep "under the radar" as someone has suggested. Just because you don't agree with a regulation, it does not give you the right to ignore it. There are HOAs in my area that have a lot of rules, most of which I don't agree with. My choice is to live elsewhere. I prefer to live in the city limits and do have to put up with some regulations that I think are silly. It is a choice that I have made. I always try to be a good neighbor and to do the right thing, even if I don't always agree.

[smarty]

my guess is yes, since this is Cali