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Palo Alto this week took its most drastic move yet to crack down on the growing number of residents who live in RVs, approving new laws that ban unattached trailers and prohibit “vanlording,” the practice of renting out RVs parked on public streets.
The City Council voted 6-1, with Council member Julie Lythcott-Haims dissenting, to approve two new urgency ordinances. The vote followed months of complaints from local businesses and residents who live in areas that have become RV enclaves, including East Meadow Circle, a section of the Ventura neighborhood and commercial neighborhoods around Embarcadero Road and San Antonio Road.
The new laws were both approved on the “consent calendar,” with no debate or discussion. The council had previously directed staff to draft the two ordinances as part of a phased strategy that also includes enhanced cleaning and outreach to residents with the aim of getting them permanent housing.
The action comes at a time when the city is seeing a spike in its homeless population. A Santa Clara County point-in-time count from earlier this year showed the number of unsheltered individuals increasing from 187 to 399 between January 2023 and January 2025. About 76% of Palo Alto’s homeless individuals live in vehicles, according to the story.
“This mode of living, while offering some semblance of stability and privacy, comes with significant challenges,” the report states in reference to vehicle dwelling. “Access to basic amenities like sanitation and healthcare remains limited, and the transient nature of living in a vehicle makes accessing social services and employment opportunities more complicated.”
Numerous RV residents had told this publication that they are concerned about the city’s decision to frontload the punitive measures while reserving measures that support the RV residents for future phases. On Monday, however, it was their critics who spoke with the louder voice. Prior to the vote, the council heard from about a dozen residents and business owners who complained that the recent deluge of RVs has created dangerous traffic conditions and an unsanitary environment.
“There’s waste in buckets on the streets being poured into our sewer system. It’s going into the marsh that we value and protect,” said Michael Prescott, one of the speakers at the Monday meeting.
Bob Marinaro said the situation with the RVs is now “past the tipping point.” He said he spoke to individuals in areas where RVs now proliferate and heard stories about oversized vehicles blocking road lanes and leaving garbage on the streets. One employee of an area business near Embarcadero Road said that workers in the area don’t feel safe anymore.
“They walk in pairs, sometimes they shuttle each other to their parked cars,” Marinaro said.
Roger Smith suggested that the preponderance of RVs around Embarcadero Road is having a negative impact on the auto dealerships in the area.
“Why would you want to go buy a car with RVs and everything we talked about?” Smith said.
The new ordinance on oversized vehicles states: “No person shall park or leave standing a non-motorized vehicle upon any public street or highway.” Enforcement, which includes citations and towing, can begin once the city posts signs declaring the prohibition.
“Staff anticipates updating signage beginning in December, with anticipated completion for currently impacted street segments by spring 2026,” a report from the offices of the city attorney and the city manager states. The Police Department will begin enforcement two weeks after the signs are installed. This allows the Police Department to conduct direct outreach to ensure those affected are aware of the code update and are subject to tow, the report added.
The vanlord ordinance, by contrast, can be enforced immediately. The ordinance asserts that allowing vanlords to rent out vehicles that are parked in the public right-of-way “facilitates private profit-taking from the use of a public resources.” It also notes that renting out of vehicles for human habitation is not currently regulated. Vanlords would be subject to a fine of $500 per violation, according to the city’s revised penalty schedule.
“Unlike traditional landlords and property management entities, vanlords are not explicitly subject to laws that require the upkeep and maintenance of rental housing,” the ordinance states. “Accordingly, those who rent from them are not protected by laws that secure tenants’ rights or even basic habitability standards.”
The new law makes it illegal to not just rent or lease oversized vehicles but to also advertise their vehicles for rental purposes or to store oversized vehicles that are intended for rental on city streets or lots.
As the sole dissenter, Lythcott-Haims spoke out against penalizing RV dwellers without first identifying locations where they can relocate. She said many of the people who live in RVs provide all kinds of services to the community, including elder care and working at local restaurants, and simply cannot afford a home here because of the area’s wide income disparity.
“I wonder where we all think the RV dwellers should go,” Lythcott-Haims said.
To address this question, the city is leaning on the nonprofit LifeMoves, which is now constructing an 88-unit “transitional housing” complex on San Antonio Road. The nonprofit has already started reaching out to RV dwellers, according to a new report, and has identified some individuals who are willing to give up RVs once they receive placement in the hew complex.
LifeMoves also reported that “many individuals are responsive to support offers and enrollment opportunities.”
“Continued coordination with City and partners is helping address challenges with engagement and documentation readiness,” the LifeMoves report states.
In addition to the enforcement measures, the city is planning to increase this month street cleanups and sweeping in areas with RVs. Additional streets would be added each week, excepting Christmas and New Year’s Day, until all currently impacted streets are covered by spring 2026, according to the report from the city attorney and the city manager.
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