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Unprecedented growth over the past few years has Needville City Council doing its best to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to planning for the future.

Such was the case with this week’s vote to adopt a resolution detailing guidelines for recreational vehicle (RV) parks within city limits.

Mayor Delbert Wendt predicted the 2010 census will reveal a population of about 3,300, and said a resident’s inquiries about RV parks prompted Council to direct city attorney Lora Lenzsch and engineer Kelly Kaluza draw up some guidelines.

“We had guidelines for mobile home parks, but nothing for RV parks,“ said Wendt. “We’re trying to set the guidelines for the future and have Needville be ready for when a business like that comes along.”

While the resolution focuses mainly on RV parks, guidelines for RVs not located in parks are also addressed.

For instance, an occupied RV may be located within city limits, outside an RV park, for a maximum of seven days in any six-month period. However, no utilities can be connected to the RV and it must not be situated on or extended over public property unless parked on the street in compliance with city laws.

Any RV parked or stored on private property must be set back at least 25 feet from the front property line.

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The following are highlights from the resolution:

Definitions

The resolution defines the differences between a camping trailer (a portable unit mounted on wheels and constructed of collapsible partial side wall); motor home (a vehicular unit designed to provide temporary living quarters, built on or permanently attached to a self-propelled motor vehicle chassis); travel trailer (a vehicular, permanent structure on a portable chassis designed to be towed by another vehicle); and truck camper (a portable unit constructed to provide temporary living quarters, which can be loaded onto and unloaded from the bed of a truck).

All four are included in the resolution’s definition of an RV, which is described as “a unit which contains facilities for either sleeping or temporary living quarters, or both, and which has its own motive power or is designed to be mounted on or towed by another vehicle.”

RVs in parks

An RV may remain in city-licensed mobile home or RV parks up to six months in a consecutive 12-month period if it has a minimum of 120 square feet of floor space, is self-contained and is no more than 10 years old.

Location

Any RV park located in Needville city limits must be between 1 and 3 acres in size, with no more than 10 RVs per acre. It must not be placed in a flood hazard area or be exposed to any health hazards or objectionable conditions such as smoke, dust, noise, odors or other “adverse influences”.

Requirements

An RV park site must be well-drained, with underground private utilities, and must be completely surrounded by a solid fence at least 6 feet high.

It must also provide two off-street parking spaces per lot, be located at least 200 feet from any permanent building located outside the park, and have well-marked streets or driveways that meet city design standards.

Owners’ duties

Owners or managers must enforce the rules and regulations, and provide for regular inspection of utilities as well as garbage collection and removal.

Adequate water supply, including fire hydrants within 500 feet of all RV spaces, is required and no open fires are permitted in the parks.

Other topics

No additional structures may be constructed in connection with RVs, other than “suitably constructed” awnings of canvas or metal.

Insect and rodent control is required, and the growth of brush, weeds and grass must be controlled.

No inoperable RVs will be allowed to remain in the parks.