Politics & Government

City May Shift Gears on Truck Parking Ban

A San Clemente policy that prohibits commercial pick-ups from parking overnight is hailed for protecting real estate values by some and critiqued for discriminating against the working class by others.

Emotions ran high as the San Clemente City Council Tuesday reviewed a controversial policy that prohibits people from leaving work gear such as ladders on pick-up trucks left parked on the street overnight.

For its defenders, the policy protects property values and neighborhood aesthetics. However, its critics argue that it unfairly targets contractors, small business owners and the working class laborers, who depend on their trucks to make a living.

After significant debate, the council opted to put off any decisions to revise the policy pending further research.

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Gail Burke, a resident and neighborhood watch block captain of the Linda Lane Park neighborhood came out in favor of the 2009 policy, calling the trucks "billboards on wheels."

She said that large commercial vehicles, parked on residential streets for days at a time, clutter up San Clemente's aesthetic and are damaging to prospective real estate sellers.

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"Why do we want to drive down real estate?" She asked council members, "It is about the area looking attractive."

San Clemente resident, George Gregory, disagreed.

"I need my truck to make a living," he said.

The amended policy passed in 2009, unfairly targets small business owners, he said. It also prohibits residents who use pick-up trucks with ladders for their livelihood from being able to park in front of their house overnight.

Gregory gave a presentation to the council titled, "San Clemente Parking Rules are Unconstitutional and Discriminatory." It included pictures of multiple commercial vehicles such as commercially sized vans and regular sized Cox cable trucks.

Peter Kanehl, an electrical contractor and resident agreed with Gregory. He has a regular sized truck, modified with an extending work rack and ladder.

"I've owned my house since 1993, and I started getting tickets two years ago,” he said. “I've gotten tickets for having one piece of pipe on one ladder in the bed of my truck parked in front of my house overnight."

Dana Point's current commercial vehicle citation policy is very similar to San Clemente’s. However, Dana Point residents may apply for permits for their commercial vehicles.

Councilmen Chris Hamm and Mayor Pro Tem Tim Brown volunteered to form a subcommittee that would look into the issue and whether to step up enforcement. Ultimately, the council agreed to revisit possible revisions to the current policy after the subcommittee has had time to report back to the council.

"I'm supportive of this code but it is a sensitive issue," said Brown.

Hamm called San Clemente a working class community.  

"This seems a little punitive of that construction working community," he said. Under the current policy, a resident who owns a mid sized truck with a full sized rack on the back can be ticketed, while a full sized truck with a full sized rack can not, added Hamm.

Mayor Bob Baker defended the code.

"You're living in a residential area,” he said.” You should not have to look at commercial vehicles seven days a week."


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