The city of Mountain View announced Wednesday that it has reached a tentative settlement with plaintiffs in a federal case challenging the city's RV parking ordinances, which prohibit oversized vehicles from parking on most city streets.
The agreement, which still needs to be finalized in the coming days, would end a lawsuit alleging that the city's parking rules were both unconstitutional and inhumane, serving as a tool to oust homeless residents living in vehicles along public roadways. The city maintains that the laws are necessary for traffic safety, and that vehicle dwellers still have plenty of ways to remain in Mountain View.
Details on the settlement have not been released, but the city already has a schedule for enforcement of the RV parking restrictions to begin. "Extensive noticing" of the impending enforcement will start on Thursday, Sept. 1, and enforcement will begin on Oct. 1, according to city spokesperson Lenka Wright.
The lawsuit, filed last year, sought to overturn two ordinances passed by the city in 2019. One prohibits oversized vehicles from parking on streets with bike lanes, while the other prohibits oversized vehicles from parking on narrow streets. The latter includes 83% of the city's streets.
The so-called "narrow streets" ordinance was controversial and immediately challenged with a referendum, which placed it on the 2020 ballot for voters to decide. The measure passed with 57% of the vote, and city officials swiftly reapproved the parking ban.
No vehicles have been ticketed or towed in violation of the new rules, however. City officials had to hold off on enforcement until signs could be fabricated and installed on hundreds of streets included in the ordinance. And right around the time the first signs went up, the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley and other legal groups filed the lawsuit challenging the parking restrictions.
In January, the city agreed in a court order not to enforce its RV parking ordinances through April 5 as both sides worked toward a settlement. The pause was later extended to July 4 and again to Aug. 30 of this year. During this period, the city could still seek "voluntary compliance" with the parking rules.
Court filings show the city came to a tentative agreement with the plaintiffs on Aug. 24, with plans to have it formally approved by Aug. 30. An updated filing today expects a final agreement signed by Sept. 9.
Comments
Registered user
Another Mountain View Neighborhood
on Aug 31, 2022 at 5:24 pm
Registered user
on Aug 31, 2022 at 5:24 pm
This lawsuit should have been dismissed a long time ago
The city wide vote should have been implemented a long time ago
Activists who dominate our Municipal Government spent too much time entertaining a law suit
that had non-credible merit.
Our city government can't be trusted
Watch for more attempts to disrupt the implementation of a clear city wide vote.
Our current city government should be voted out
There are some new faces running for office
They are just regular working people who decided to run
Not Activists who spend all their time on this stuff and have agendas centered on their ideologies
And I've watched several of these Activists seek to silence anybody who disagree with them
So seriously consider voting for these new faces who many not have as much experience in the ins and outs of city government, but have good problem solving skills from industry
BTW, I am a liar and made all this stuff up and you should ignore everything I say (I just added this to save Randy G. the effort of his usual job)
Registered user
Cuesta Park
on Aug 31, 2022 at 6:21 pm
Registered user
on Aug 31, 2022 at 6:21 pm
I don't know if you're a liar or not, but you clearly don't understand how government works. For example, the "Municipal Government" doesn't really have a choice whether or not to "entertain" it, it's lawsuit in a federal court. The city did file motions to dismiss, but they were rejected by the court, which would not be the case if, as you claim, the suit had "non-credible merit."
Registered user
Cuesta Park
on Aug 31, 2022 at 11:00 pm
Registered user
on Aug 31, 2022 at 11:00 pm
Frank is right.