NORTH PALM BEACH, Fla. — After decades without any concerns, some residents in North Palm Beach who own RVs and store them on the side of their homes say they are receiving notices they are out of compliance.
The village says in 2018 they started enforcing the code that was voted on in 1970s.
“As you can see I have my 6-foot fence I’m at over 11 feet in height,” said resident Colby Briggs.
Briggs, who's lived in the village more than 10 years, says he was recently told his RV is too big for his property.
“I have proper screening but they said there’s no way. I’ve asked and they said there’s no way you can comply. You got to move it,” said Briggs.
RV owners in North Palm Beach say after years of never receiving as little as a warning, they are now facing fines of up to $150 a day.
“They are hurting people financially. It’s a hardship,” said resident Kathleen Wallenhorst.
It’s a hardship these residents say they never imagined would be happening.
“The ordinance is 47 years old they dusted it off and they applied the same sort of measurement requirements back 47 years ago to today,” said Wallenhorst.
The village of North Palm Beach says they started enforcing the boat and RV code in April of 2018. They suspended the enforcement in September of 2018 and held a survey about the code.
In July of 2019 they changed the boat ordinance from a 10 feet restriction to a 12 feet, but left the RV height requirement the same as it’s always been.
The council did however vote to extend grow-in time for screening vegetation from one to two years and are allowing homeowners to build a gate up to 2 feet taller than the maximum currently allowed, which is 6 feet.
‘I’ve got power lines front and back that I have to contend with. So for them to tell me I have to be covered and screened on all four sides I don’t see the point of it,” said resident John Baker.
The village says RV owners can lease space at nearby Anchorage Park for a monthly fee, or meet the current requirements, otherwise they will face fines.
RV owners plan to bring this topic up at the next village council meeting on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m.