Like other Front Range communities, Boulder County lacks sufficient affordable housing for its labor force, leading many to utilize non-traditional and substandard long-term housing options that include outdoor and vehicle camping.  With bans on vehicle camping in the City of Boulder, restrictions on RV parking along residential streets in Longmont and Broomfield, and the dispersal of vehicle campers from the Diagonal Plaza, many of those using their vehicles for a long-term residence (along with short-term residential and recreational campers) have been pushed into unincorporated neighborhoods like Palo Park in north Boulder, where ambiguity about the legal status of long-term vehicle camping in Boulder County residential neighborhoods provide the Sheriff and county residents with inadequate resources for mitigating impacts on such disproportionately-burdened neighborhoods.

Mindful of the need for long-term solutions to the region’s housing crisis but also concerned about the local impacts on neighborhoods like Palo Park of unrestricted vehicle camping along residential streets, we the undersigned request that the Boulder County Commissioners develop regulations on vehicle camping along county residential streets that protect the health and safety of all county residents and more equitably share the burdens associated with those utilizing non-traditional and substandard housing options in residential neighborhoods, including increased traffic, noise and light pollution, and litter.  We suggest the following:

1.  That parking of nonresident (i.e. those not registered to an owner residing within the neighborhood) residential vehicles be limited to 48 hours within any 14-day period in any residential zone (note: the 48-hour limit matches Longmont’s rules and is double the City of Boulder's enforced limit, promoting more equitable burden-sharing).

a.  Residential zones should cover multiple blocks within a residential neighborhood (moving vehicles across or down a street should *not* reset the 48-hour clock).

b.  As elsewhere, the Sheriff should mark tires and initiate rule enforcement upon any complaint.

2.  Other public health, safety and nuisance rules should be developed for vehicle campers that are consistent with those applied to residents of traditional housing, such as:

a.  Rubbish must be stored in vehicles or secure containers and properly disposed of.

b.  Vehicle residents may not obstruct sidewalks, crosswalks, or marked bicycle lanes.

c.  Registered sex offenders and others that would be required to notify neighbors before residing in traditional housing may not legally camp in their vehicles without the same prior notification.

d.  Vehicle residents must comply with other applicable county ordinances (e.g. dark sky outdoor lighting restrictions, noise and public nuisance restrictions, rules on public consumption of alcohol or drugs, responsibilities for clearing snow on adjacent sidewalks, legal liability for public hazards, etc.).

We also encourage the County to develop long-term vehicle camping options for those with demonstrated indigence or (possibly) when sponsored by a Boulder County employer, including vehicle-camping areas with proper waste disposal and sanitation facilities, and with access to public transportation.  Others should be redirected to appropriate County fee camping areas.