RV park residents don't want ordinance enforced

People living in Boulder City recreational vehicle parks may have to find a new home if city officials decide to crack down on a longstanding zoning ordinance.

While some travelers use Boulder Oaks and Canyon Trails RV parks as temporary landing pads, others have made the facilities their permanent address.

Boulder City Councilman Bill Smith said some RV park visitors are violating the city's ordinance that says travelers cannot stay at the park for more than 180 continuous days.

He admits the ordinance has a loophole that allows RV owners to skip town for a day and return to live for another six-month stint.

"When I ran for City Council, I was aware of a number of people living in RV parks," Smith said. "If someone checks into an RV park and uses the RV park as their address, they are in violation of the ordinance."

Smith said he suggested the city look into enforcing the ordinance more strictly, but his request was misconstrued by RV travelers and park owners, who vowed to battle any amendments made to the existing law.

The issue was pulled from tonight's City Council agenda to allow Smith to clarify his recommendation.

"I planned to ask the council whether they want staff to enforce the existing ordinance, which does not allow people to live in RV parks," Smith said. "That's all I was ever interested in doing to begin with."

Whether the city introduces an ordinance prohibiting people from skirting the 180-day limit or decides to enforce the existing law, the action may not sit well with RV owners.

Smith said the city doesn't have the resources to check RV park registers to ensure people aren't living on the property permanently.

But, he said, many RV owners receive mail at the park or have the RV park's address listed on their driver's license and that is a misdemeanor.

Some RV owners in the Boulder Oaks park don't think the city should prohibit them from receiving mail because they are transient and spend most of their time in Boulder City.

But Boulder Oaks visitors are in an unusual situation.

Boulder Oaks developers are the only RV park owners in Nevada who subdivided their property and sold individual lots. In just two years, the park has sold 205 of its 275 lots for an average of $30,000.

In a recent letter to city officials, RV park resident Grant Proctor said he has possessed a Nevada driver's license, filed tax returns and lived in Boulder City since 1956.

He is retired and is out of town about five months a year. Proctor said he should have the same rights as other property owners, which means staying at the RV park for more than 180 days a year.

RV residents were under the impression Smith had recommended that no RV owner stay in the park for more than 180 days, which he has yet to pitch.

"That would mean because I am a resident of Boulder City, a resident of the state of Nevada, I cannot live on my lot 180 days a year," Proctor wrote. "I would have to own another home or abode in the state."

Boulder Oaks co-owner Marshall Goldman said none of the lot owners live in the Industrial Road park permanently. In the park's codes, covenants and restrictions, it clearly states no one can stay 180 consecutive days.

"We're not at odds with the city," Goldman said. "They want transients here, and that's what we want. It's no surprise to anyone."

Goldman said he never insinuated people could live at the park simply because they bought lots. Subdivided RV parks are popular in other states, but no one had thought to do it in Nevada, he said.

"The benefit is people take care of something they own more than if they just rent it," Goldman said.

His park is popular with travelers because of the private ownership and has been featured in several RV magazines, Goldman said. The park is terraced so each RV owner has an unobstructed view of Lake Mead.

"We're near Lake Mead, Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon; things people with RVs like to visit," Goldman said. "And we're one of the few parks in the world where you're on a plain surface."

Smith said the RV residency issue is scheduled to go before the City Council on July 14.

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