Some boat and RV owners in Edmonds are concerned about two new city proposals that they believe could restrict their property rights by limiting the number of vehicles they can keep at their homes, and creating new nuisance laws.
The rules are intended to protect property values in Edmonds by reducing visual blight, as well as aiding emergency access, guarding against rodents and pests, and stopping leaking motor oils, according to the draft proposal.
The nuisance laws seek to limit noise, dust, vibrations and other nuisances.
City officials say the rules are aimed at extreme cases only.
Some residents are worried the city aims to do more.
The city’s planning board discussed the controversial vehicle rules, known technically as “property performance standards,” at a public hearing July 9, which was after the Enterprise’s deadline. The rules are set to come before the City Council some time soon.
The nuisance laws will be discussed at a July 15 public hearing at City Council. The hearing starts around 7 p.m. in Council Chambers at 250 Fifth Ave. N.
The “performance standard” rules could limit homeowners, with certain exceptions, to a maximum of five cars or trucks, two “recreational vehicles” like boats and RVs, and the amount of time people may work on their vehicles in their own driveways. It would prohibit junk vehicles entirely.
With the proposal, the city is not worried about health and safety, said Roger Hertrich, a former City Councilmember, and city critic.
“It wants to put neighbor against neighbor,” Hertrich said. “We have a grab bag of (all possible rules) for Edmonds, and it is full.”
It is true that vehicles in yards are big problems for some neighbors in Edmonds, said Duane Bowman, the city’s development services director.
Complaints are common, he said. They are among the most common in the city, he said.
“This (proposal) is about what people file complaints about,” Bowman said. “In a tight real estate market, people want every edge for their properties.”
Some restrictions are reasonable, even worried citizens agreed.
But, some boat owners like Gary Stewart, who has lived near Yost Pool for nearly 50 years, want to warn the city against going too far.
He spent about $8,000 paving a parking space next to his home for his 19-foot fishing boat a few years ago.
He only has one boat. But he definitely wants to park it at his home, he said. “It makes sense to have some rules for sure,” said Stewart, whose wife has won multiple awards for her well-kept garden. “But they are invading personal property. This is my property.
“This is where I park my rig,” he said.
A few houses away from Stewart, there is a home in a tidy, four-house cul-de-sac with a boat parked in its lawn.
Across the cul-de-sac are two homes with RVs.
The homeowners just want to be left alone, said Janet Walker, who has owned either a boat or an RV since 1957.
“It would be the pot calling the kettle black if I didn’t like (the boat),” Walker said. “I just think most people, 99 percent, take pride in what they have.”
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