Council seeks to change RV rules
Federal Way’s new city ordinance would prohibit RV parking on city streets in residential areas.
An amendment to a city ordinance regarding mobile home regulations will most likely pass after the Federal Way City Council meeting on September 3.
The amendment was referred for second reading during the August 13 meeting and is a follow-up to the March 2024 amendment that banned the parking of RVs on city streets except in residential areas.
The new amendment would also prohibit RV parking on city streets in residential areas, with an exception that would allow an RV to be parked in front of the RV owner’s home for loading/unloading for a 48-hour period.
A corresponding amendment to the law is expected to be presented at the next City Council meeting in September, which would also loosen the regulations for storing RVs on private property, such as “in the side or even back yard in addition to the driveway,” as Council Member Jack Dovey explained during the August 13 meeting.
In discussing the change, Council Member Lydia Assefa-Dawson expressed her concerns about the financial burden the city is placing on RV owners, who may face new monthly costs as a result of the ordinance change.
“My concern is that we are putting an undue burden on the people who own these homes because we now want them to store them,” Assefa-Dawson said.
She proposed an alternative solution that would allow RV owners to park their RVs in front of their homes provided they have a permit of some sort. She suggested alternatives and proposed a program where a sticker could indicate that an RV can be parked on the street and people without the appropriate sticker could be fined.
Assefa-Dawson said she disagreed with a “blanket ban” because “when someone buys a motorhome, they want to enjoy it whenever they want and park it wherever they want, as long as it’s legal.”
Council member Paul McDaniel expressed that he did not find the law change strict enough and advocated for the removal of all exceptions such as the one proposed that allows unloading. Without exceptions, McDaniel’s proposal could hypothetically mean that residents could be penalized for having an RV parked in front of their home for an extended period of time, even if they were loading or unloading it.
He proposed the abolition of the 48-hour rule, arguing: “Most people do what they want anyway, it doesn’t matter what we write in the law, no matter what is in this regulation.”
McDaniel explained that he believes enforcement will be much more difficult with any exemption because there is an administrative “headache” associated with tracking how long an RV has been in a particular location and tracking it accordingly.
He said the exemption would result in “people abusing it,” adding: “That’s my blunt opinion on it. They’re going to abuse it because I feel like that’s the way people look at the law sometimes. They look for loopholes in it.”
Responding to McDaniel’s motion to remove the exemption, Dovey said, “I oppose this motion because I don’t think it’s well thought out,” and warned against “legislating from the podium.”
There was no public comment on the proposed law change at the Aug. 13 meeting, although community members had expressed concern at previous meetings about the additional costs of storing their RVs.
Further updates
• The City also renewed memorandums of understanding with the Federal Way Chorale, Federal Way Youth Symphony Orchestra, Federal Way Symphony Orchestra and the Jet Cities Chapter of the Sweet Adelines, expanding their benefits to include some free rehearsals and performances.
• In an emotional speech at the city council public hearing, Selena Taylor thanked the police officer who performed CPR to save her son’s life when he died from gun violence in 2021.
