GROVES — Owners of recreational vehicles in Groves made their voices heard and city council listened.

Groves residents Joseph Standifer and David Teague received a form letter from the city stating a neighbor had complained about the parking of their RV’s. In an effort to address what city leaders called confusing rules regarding storage of recreational vehicles and off-street parking two sections of ordinance were combined.

City manager D. Sosa recommended blending two ordinances, keeping the hard surface requirement and using the property line as the setack.

Standifer said the way the ordinances were set up was virtually unenforceable, adding, “a vehicle is a vehicle.”

Standifer created a concrete area 10 foot by 35 foot to park his RV with an extra layer of chain wall located where the axels would be to handle the weight of the vehicle. He was told by a city employee that what he did was correct.

“Four years later I get a form letter,’ Standifer said.

He said he was pleased with the outcome of the meeting and the ordinance changeup “If they do what they say they’re going to do.”

Teague was pleased with council’s decision.

“I’m extremely happy right now,” Teague said adding his was a parking issue. “Put everything into one ordinance so people can understand.”

One ordinance, section 9-1700, says in part that parking and storage of the occupants’ own uninhabited recreational vehicles shall be allowed on each lot so long as they are parked no closer than 10 feet from the front property. A second ordinance, 9-908, says in part that off-street parking of a vehicle or trailer in the front of side yard of a residence is prohibited unless the space is a hard surfaced area. It must be completely on private property and shall consist of rock, shell, concrete, asphalt or similar hard surface material. It can be no less than 9-feet by 20-feet but no more than 50 percent of the front and side yards combined.

Both men spoke their mind civilly and both were a bit irked by the form letter to which Sosa addressed.

“We operate in the city of Groves on a complaint type basis. We don’t usually go out and look for violations,” Sosa said.

If there is a complaint about an RV and there is more than one on the block the city inspector won’t just look at the one but all on the block, Sosa said. “Right now 85 to 90 percent are pretty much on the property line and there are very few we come across that are a vision problem. If you neighbor has to back out all the way into the street to see, that would be a problem but I don’t thing there are many of those.”

Councilmembers and Sosa listened as audience members took to the podium to complain and question their letters and the ordinances.

“It’s best to be a little more proactive,” Sosa said. “We like you in Groves (RV owners) and want to make sure we help you the best we can and are on the same page. We work for you.”

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