Fremont bans long-term RV street parking: A closer look at impact here
FREMONT, Calif. (KGO) -- Fremont City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday on a proposal that would limit parking for 72 hours, and ban parking RV's in residential areas.
One family of five lives in an RV parked along Irvington Park in Fremont.
Senae Lopez says her three teenagers are within walking distance to Irvington High School.
"Oh it's a hard time for them, most of all you know, cause they need their own space. Mostly for my girl cause she's the only one and the oldest, so it's kind of hard," Lopez said.
Lopez said they have a social worker currently helping them. Lopez works part-time, her husband is looking for work. ABC7's Lauren Martinez asked if she felt like a bother parked so close to homes.
"It's the same thing. Like they pay taxes, I pay taxes...I work. So I don't know. They can say, 'oh they don't pay rent'- exactly that's true, but expensive you know. Clothing, food, gas, my job is not here. (it's) all the way in San Jose," Lopez said.
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According to Lopez, the family has parked their RV along Irvington Park for 5-6 months.
But for Sheila Mani, who lives in a home just feet away, she says they've been here a lot longer.
"A year and a half," Mani said.
We first spoke with Mani back in May when a row RV's were parked along the park.
You could hear a generator running from her second-floor window.
Mani and other residents tried to get city leaders to take some kind of action.
"It's gotten to a point that the indifference has not only been frustrating, we've reached a point of no hope," Mani said.
MORE: New San Francisco proposal aims to ban RVs on city-managed streets overnight
On Tuesday evening, Fremont City Council voted unanimously on an ordinance that would ban parking RV's in residential areas.
Fremont City Councilmember Raj Salwan said the proposal is a compromise to try to address the issue of overnight parking.
"One, we have to enforce this and that's going to take some time to scale up so we do want to have resources for these individuals whether that's through a nonprofits, permanent affordable housing, shelters, all of the above and so I'm ready to move this forward," Salwan said.
According to the ordinance, any vehicle that has been parked in the same location for 72 hours must be moved at least 1,000 feet away.
"We are very empathetic to the fact that it's a sad situation to be in. However as I mentioned before- their problem cannot be our problem. It is the city's responsibility to find them a safe and secure place to stay," Mani said.
MORE: San Jose's plan to remove RVs from city streets with over 900 likely-occupied vehicles identified
Mani hopes city officials will communicate more with residents regarding overnight parking.
Three months ago, Mani called police to try and get some action done regarding the RV. A case was opened, but Mani hasn't heard from anyone since.
"Communicate what you have been doing. As I mentioned, it's been three months. I have no idea what's going on, right. So speak to us, communicate, it's not difficult in this age of technology how hard is it to communicate to keep people in the loop," Mani said.
