Parking and Storing of Vehicles

City Ordinance 585 was approved by the City Council on June 10, 2024 and became effective on July 10, 2024.  City Ordinance 589 was approved by the City Council on July 8, 2024 and became effective on August 7, 2024.  Relevant code sections are included below explaining the new rules.  

Veneta Municipal Code

10.05.020 Definitions

 (8) “Vehicle” means and includes any house trailer, mobile home, motor vehicle, truck, passenger motor vehicle, recreational vehicle, motorhome, camper, cabin, motorcycle, trailer, boat, farm machinery or similar equipment, or any truck with more than two axles or any trailer, mobile home or motorhome with a length exceeding 20 feet. (Ord. 554 § 1, 2019; Ord. 371 § 2, 1997)

City Ordinance 585

Veneta Municipal Code

10.05.130 Prohibited parking.

(1) No person shall park and no owner shall allow a vehicle to be parked or stored:

(h) On any unimproved surface in a residential zone or a lot not in a residential zone but in residential use. For the purposes of this section, an improved surface shall consist of asphalt, concrete, cement or pavers sufficient to support the weight of a permanently parked vehicle. Rock, gravel and similar materials not in a retention and stabilization grid or similar material do not constitute an improved surface within a front yard, but may constitute an improved surface in side and rear yards;

(i) In front of a dwelling, unless in the driveway or in one front-side yard (reference Diagram 1), in conformance with the following standards:

(i) Located on an improved surface, unless it is set back at least 20 feet;

(ii) Not encroaching upon a public right-of-way or blocking any pedestrian path;

(iii) Located outside of any required clear vision area in conformance with Veneta Land Development Ordinance 493, Section 5.03;

(iv) Not located within 10 feet of an adjacent property driveway, unless set back at least 10 feet from the front property line in order to allow for the neighbor to have clear vision when accessing their property;

(v) Not located in any landscaped area, lawn, or barked area;

(vi) Accessed via a city-approved driveway approach;

(vii) Only one vehicle may be stored in front of a dwelling;

(viii) The vehicle must be road ready, operable, secure, and maintained in a structurally sound and functionally safe condition;

(ix) The vehicle must not be connected to gas, water, sewer or any other portable holding tanks; however, a temporary electricity connection to recharge batteries is acceptable;

(x) The vehicle must be owned by the property owner or the person occupying the property as their primary residence;

(xi) The vehicle must not be inhabited, or used as a temporary or permanent residence while parked or stored.

                                                                               Diagram 1

City Ordinance 589

Veneta Zoning and Development Code

Section 5.01 General Provisions Regarding Accessory Uses

An accessory use shall comply with all requirements for a principal use, except where specifically modified by this section. Accessory uses shall not be used for human habitation. Accessory uses shall comply with the following standards.

 (6)   Vehicles, boats, trailers, recreational vehicles, vans, campers may be stored on a lot as an accessory use to a dwelling and in conformance with Veneta Municipal Code 10.05.130(1).

Veneta Zoning and Development Code 

Section 5.20  Off-Street Parking Requirements

16) Parking of Boats, Trailers, and Recreational Vehicles on Private Property 

A. Parking and storage of Boats, Trailers and Recreational Vehicles must meet the standards found in Veneta Municipal Code 10.05.130(1) unless:

1. It is parked or stored in a manufactured dwelling park or recreational vehicle park; 

2.  It is located behind a fence in a side or rear yard area;

3.  It is located entirely within a legally constructed garage, shop, or other storage building;

4. It has been approved as part of a temporary use permit;

5.  It is located within an approved commercial/Industrial storage facility.

Background

In September of 2022, Veneta City Council directed staff to explore updating the City's code enforcement policy. A community engagement program was conducted that included an educational campaign with newsletters and social media posts followed by councilor interviews, public listening sessions attended by community members, and a community survey. Findings of this program were presented to the City Council at the May 8, 2023 City Council meeting. At that time, direction was given to staff to continue the code enforcement services analysis and to report back at the October 9, 2023 City Council meeting.   The analysis conducted by staff included an inspection of Resolution No 994 - The City's Code Enforcement Policy, and it was determined the City can take a more proactive enforcement approach and not just rely on a complaint driven process.  Potential changes to increase staff efficiency, and a reorganization of staff duties regarding code enforcement were also discussed at this meeting.   

The rules in place prior to the proposed text amendments prohibited parking any trailers, boats or recreational vehicles in front of a dwelling.  Text amendments were brought before the City Council at the January 22, 2024 regular meeting, and were discussed further at a work session on February 23, 2024. City Council directed staff to make changes and requested the item be brought back for discussion at the March 11, 2024 City Council work session.   At that time, the Council gave direction to begin the public hearing process to amend the Veneta Municipal Code to allow storing a boat, trailer, or recreational vehicle between the house and the street, if it met certain standards.  At the May 13, 2024 City Council meeting, a public hearing on the proposed amendments was held and the Council approved a first reading of Ordinance No. 585.  The second reading of Ordinance 585 was approved by the City Council on June 10, 2024 and if became effective on July 10, 2024.  It should be noted that at this time, there was still a conflict with the text of the Veneta Zoning and Development Code.  

In order to fully implement the City Council direction to establish standards for vehicle parking and storage in front of a dwelling, the VZDC also needed to be amended in order to remove the conflict between the two codes and synchronize them on this issue. On June 4, 2024, the Planning Commission conducted a public hearing on the proposed amendments and recommended approval of the code language. The City Council then held another public hearing where they approved the first and second reading of Ordinance 589, on July 8, 2024, and it became effective on August 7, 2024.

Public notice was published in the newspaper and posted at City Hall and the Library and on the City website and on the State of Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development online portal.  Additionally, articles with information regarding the new parking and storage standards have been included in the June, July, and August 2024, City Newsletters.  The City Facebook page has also included at least 2 social media posts per month on this topic since June.   

Next steps, City staff will be proactively looking for properties that have vehicles being stored in front of a house.  If they see properties that appear to be noncompliant, they will mail a courtesy notice to the owner and or resident of the site, informing them of the new parking and storage rules.  If properties remain in violation they will be referred to the Code Enforcement program where efforts will be made to achieve voluntary compliance.