By Rebecca Dopp
Times-News Correspondent
In August of this year, Dan Green, a new resident in Levan Town, came before the town council to discuss obtaining a permit for an RV to be placed on his property while he constructed a new home. At the time, the town’s ordinance did not allow for this permit, and the Planning Commission was tasked with looking over the town’s ordinance and coming up with a revision. Mike Lloyd, Planning Commission Chairman, said, at the time, that they would need more time to get it right. The discussion was tabled for the September meeting. However, they were still not ready to approve any changes. On October 10, the town council held a work session to discuss what the Planning Commission had come up with. They then held a public hearing at 6:30 pm to take public comment on the changes. During the public hearing, Lloyd read the changes that were made to the ordinance. RV Ordinance, 16.26.110: Provisions applying to recreational vehicles and recreational vehicle parks, had several changes in the first section: Recreation vehicle location and use 1. A recreational vehicle (RV) as defined in 16.04 may be used or occupied only on a temporary basis with the following provisions: A. The RV must be placed in such a way as to not block clear view triangles on corners and driveways, or other locations that would create a safety issue. B. The RV may be safely connected to electricity and culinary water. The sewer connection may be made to a regular RV dump system approved by the County Department of Health. C. The time limit of occupancy is not to exceed 14 consecutive days. Longer occupancy must be approved by the Planning Commission and will require a Conditional Use Permit. “So what if they move out for a week and then move back in?” asked Bruce Rowley, council member. Lloyd said they had discussed how they would control that. Green said he felt their was a loophole with the 14 consecutive days. Anyone could just move their RV for a day or two and then come back and start over on the 14 consecutive days. Rowley said he would rather they take out the word consecutive and just add “14 days in a 90-day period.” Other council members agreed. “What we are trying to prevent is people living in their RV on your property,” said Mayor Corey Christensen. “We are okay with visitors, we just don’t want full-time residents, or part-time residents, living there.” D. The RV owner assumes all liability if the RV is parked on any public street or right-of-way. E. If the RV is owned by anyone other than the owner of the property where it is parked, the RV owner and occupants must have the permission of the property owner and must not be charged fees. 2. Occupancy during construction. The Planning Commission may approve a Conditional Use Permit for Temporary Dwelling for the land owner to occupy an RV during construction of a new home on the same property, or in case of a disaster which makes the primary home unlivable with the following conditions: A. Occupancy is not to exceed twelve (12) months in conjunction with a current Building Permit. B. Utility connections must be approved by the Town building inspector. C. Reasonable progress must be made on construction/repairs of the primary residence to minimize occupancy time of the RV. The second part, Recreational Vehicle Storage, struck most of the section. Lloyd said that originally only one RV could be stored on a property. They took out that restriction and you can now have an unlimited number. They also took out the size restriction. “There is a section that defines what an RV is,” said Lloyd. The rest of the ordinance fixed some typos and struck out a part that said an RV couldn’t be in an RV park for more than 30 consecutive days, or rented to an individual for more than 30 cumulative days in a 90-day period. They changed that to one year. A permanent manager will not have to get approval from the Planning Commission anymore and will not be restricted to a 30-day limitation. The ordinance added Section F, “Any other uses or occupancy of recreational vehicles in prohibited.” In regular meeting, which started at 7:00 pm, the council—minus Ray Evans and Clifford Christensen who were not present—voted to approve the revisions to the ordinance with the amendment to Section A, 1. C., strike “consecutive” and add “in a 90-day period.” It passed unanimously. Christensen said that if the 90-days didn’t work out, they could always come back and amend it again. The council then went on to discuss the revisions to the Mobile, Manufactured and Modular Homes ordinance. Most of the ordinance stayed the same. There was only one section that had a change. Mayor Christensen said that the revision prohibits someone from living in a mobile home on their property during construction. They would need to be in an RV. “The reason for that is because of the cost—it’s expensive to move a mobile home—and once they get it moved on to the property it’s hard to get them off,” he said. “Problems with people not moving them when they’re done, and now we’re stuck with a mobile home and a big, giant can of worms.” Green said that he felt it was no one’s business how much it cost to remove the mobile home and that it would be up to the land owner, but he agreed with the second part of Christensen’s reasoning. Another resident said he felt the town’s intent was to force someone to live in substandard housing. Christensen disagreed and felt that there were some pretty fancy RVs out there. He just didn’t want a mobile home to become a problem later. “Our intent is to allow them to build their house, not to give them a cozy place to live,” said Rowley. Green said that he had a rebuttal to his prior comment and said that he understood that if the town had to remove a mobile home from the property through their attorney, they would be stuck with the cost. “We don’t want that either,” Green said. In regular meeting, the council approved the revisions to the ordinances.
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