On August 11, the California Coastal Commission found by an 11-1 vote that the City of Santa Cruz' midnight to 5 PM RV (recreational vehicle) parking ban involved a "substantial issue" and so would require a new hearing in the months to come. The CCC was not convinced by Assistant City Manager Scott Collins's claims that Santa Cruz provides RV alternatives, is dealing with an RV "crime crisis", and is only duplicating what other cities have done.

Robert Norse writes: City councilfolks and staffers can bullshit themselves, but it's harder to bullshit the Coastal Commission. In Santa Cruz, staff word is usually holy writ, so they can spin whatever yarns they want with challenge only from the occasional critic that the Council ignores.

The Coastal Commission staff initially advised the Santa Cruz Council staff that last year's proposed 8 PM to 8 AM RV ban would be too sweeping to pass muster once I'd filed an appeal at the recommendation of Councilmember Posner. The Coastal Commission staff, after months of consulting with the Scott Collins City Council staff, agreed to a "compromise" midnight to 5 AM ban, swallowing whole Collins' specious arguments. The CC staff then recommended upholding the "RV's Get Out!" law and denying my appeal.

Though they had plenty of time to research, both staffs failed to include the particulars. For instance, the (lack of) availability of RV parking in the City. Or the minuscule number of churches that actually allow an RV to park (where they have to compete with vehicles). In essence, Collins' failed to come up with specific parking alternatives for unhoused people using RV's as housing.

He had no specific statistics clarifying what "crimes" required passing such a Draconian city-wide ban. But claimed he had. A few simple questions from the Commission itself exposed how unsubstantiated these claims were.

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See Also: An Open Letter to the Santa Cruz City Council: Time to Revisit RV Safe Spaces Program