RV Parking ban vote coming soon we need to act now

[gmbusguy1]

Hey all Check this out and note the included email address'   Chris I have sent my thoughts to the Mayor

QUOTE
Indiana town proposes ban on RV and truck parking By Staff Report | May 24, 2009 - 4:47 pm - Posted in Uncategorized The city council of Hobart, Indiana has passed the first vote of a proposal to prohibit trucks and RVs from parking in city parking lots. Violators could be fined up to $2,500.

Hobart is s 38 miles from Chicago, Illinois and 151 miles from Indianapolis, Indiana, near three major highways; I-65 to the west, I80/94 to the north, and U.S. route 30 to the south.

The proposal was approved on a 5-2 vote and is aimed at truck drivers who in recent months have turned parking lots along U.S. 30 into de facto truck stops. "Councilman Jerry Herzog said he's received a number of complaints from residents about the growing number of trucks and RVs that make overnight stops in the parked overnight stops in Hobart's largest retail district," wrote reporter Karen Snelling in the Post-Tribune.

At-large Councilwoman Monica Wiley told Snelling she voted against the ordinance because it was unnecessary and flies in the face of Hobart as "the friendly city."

The final vote on the parking ban is expected to come June 3. If you would like to weigh in, you can email:

Karen Snelling, Post-Tribune Staff Writer, ksnelling@post-trib.com
Hobart Mayor Brian Snedecor, mayorsnedecor@city.hobart.in.us

[Airbag]

Isn't Indiana the largest manufacturing state for RVs ? Kinda like our Government subsidizing tobacco farmers and penalizing the consumer.

Please post a link to the article. This will spred like wildfire if they pull it off.

[bobofthenorth]

Email sent.  The RV community was successful in rolling back similar legislation in the Maine state legislature within the last 2 weeks.  Politicians do listen if enough people talk.

[gus]

I sent my email. This reminds me of the emails I sent to about a half dozen city councils a couple of years ago but they were all in the west.

This is a rare opportunity to possibly stop restricted parking before it starts.

[WEC4104]

Yes, I am amazed that of all places, a Northern Indiana town would initiate a crack down on RVs.  Hobart is an hour and a half from some of the big RV manufacturers, but they at least have to see the news.

It is interesting to note that the Hobart police stated that they have never received a complaint regarding the trucks/RVs parked in the parking lots.

I'm figuring that if the town council can find a way to tax the people parking there, it will be okay.

[Airbag]

E-mail sent.

Dear Mayor
I have heard about the proposed ban on RV parking in public parking areas. This would be a bad idea for your economy, they do spend money, I am one of them. Why not try just the opposite and make a facility that will make both the neighbors and the RV ers happy and encourage spending? That's just the kind of innovative thinking that we expect from our leaders right?

Yours Truly

Rick Barter

[gmbusguy1]

Link to the news

http://rvnewsservice.com/?p=264

Chris

[JohnEd]

EMAIL sent!

[fraser8]

I sen the following to the Mayor and their local paper.

Mr Mayor, please post your RV ban on your 'Welcome to Hobart' sign so we can bypass your town and business'. I don't like to spend money in towns that don't want or like RV people. Consider the repercussions when this item is listed on the many RV chat sites on the web.

Fraser Field
Coordinator/Wagonmaster
Coast to Coast Tour

[Dreamscape]

Email sent also!

~Paul~

[RJ]

Here's a link to the main Post-Tribune article:

http://www.post-trib.com/news/lake/1567223,hbnoise.article


And here's my email to the Mayor (italics added only on this bbs):

Dear Mayor Snedecor -

It has come to my attention, via the Internet, that the City Council is proposing an ordinance to prohibit overnight RV parking in public parking lots, with rather steep fines for violation.

Considering that Hobart is practically in the heart of the RV industry's major manufacturing area, that's a pretty big slap in the face to an already struggling sector of the economy.

I have to shake my head and wonder - is this for real, or simply another "revenue enhancement scheme" to help fill empty government coffers at the expense of the mobile population?

Should the Council actually pass this short-sighted proposal, I will make sure that I pass the word on to all my fellow RVers to vote with our feet and take our business (and sales tax revenue) to more RV-friendly neighboring communities.

Think carefully about what kind of a message Hobart would be sending to RVers nationwide with the passing of this ordinance.  Think carefully. . .

Sincerely,

RJ Long
Full-time RVer
Fresno CA based


FWIW & HTH. . .

[Van]

This cannot be allowed ,sent e-mail also.Where do these people come up with this kinda non sense

[JackConrad]

    I sent my email.  I think the problem is more trucks than RVs, but we all get grouped together. With DOT reducing truckers Hours of Service (HOS) and many smaller truck stops closing, it is becoming difficult for many truckers to find a place to stop when their HOS is up.
   One thing that does give Rvs a bad name is when they camp instead of park (awnings out, leveling jacks down (sometimes punching hloes in the blacktop), BBQ grill and chairs out.  When we stop for the night, the only thing that changes on the outside,of our bus is a TV antenna being raised. There is a big difference between parking and camping.  Jack

[MattC]

Sent the Mayor a nice letter.  

Agreed, Truck-stops fill up early due to shorter haul hours.

Hmmm, since other lifestyle choices are being protected under 'hate crime' legislation, why not the Full-time RV lifestyle choice as well.  

An evil laugh (muhahahahaha) passes his pale lips as he picks up the stick and stirs.

[bobofthenorth]

We don't stay in Wallymart a lot but we do look for them if we are moving through an area, mainly because they are an easily identifiable spot where we know we can usually plan on staying overnight.  Although I'm sure it does happen occasionally we've never seen the kind of camping at Wallymart that people refer to.  We've seen slides out but some rigs simply aren't useable without extending the slides.  Other than that what we've seen is pretty clearly people stopping rather than camping.  I think Wallycamping is one of those bogeymen that campground owners like to trot out to get legislation passed that they believe will benefit their businesses.  At the root of every one of these bills I think there is some well connected campground owner or association.  As Jack said we all need to make sure we don't contribute to any negative stereotypes.  In our case when we're stopped the only external difference is that the wheels aren't turning.  We don't even have an antenna to raise.