With overnight parking restrictions taking effect in one Santa Maria neighborhood following safety concerns brought up by residents, a similar ordinance will soon take effect in the City of Lompoc.
The Lompoc City Council has approved a new ordinance banning overnight parking in two industrial areas following concerns about violence and vandalism brought up by business owners.
RVs parked along Industrial Way in Lompoc will soon have to move in the overnight hours.
“I’ve seen drug use. I’ve seen the traffic going in and out of these RVs,” said Lompoc Resident Nikolai Nikolenko, who supports the measure. “Plus, there’s trash, there’s litter, there’s violence.”
The new ordinance, approved Tuesday night. bans overnight parking between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. in one industrial area on the southeast end of town.
This includes the 300 block of North Ninth Street, Industrial Way, and Chestnut Court.
“I believe this ordinance would give the police something to enforce,” added Nikolenko.
The new rule will also apply to streets around the Walmart supercenter on the other side of town where overnight parking will not be allowed between 11 p.m. and 5 or 6 a.m., depending on which street.
“A few people that are jerks screw it up for everybody,” said Tim Brummer, owner of Brummer Engineering.
Brummer says he is concerned about theft but stressed that people living out of their RVs usually are not the problem.
“There are also people in RVs who are very polite. They don’t leave any trash, they’re nice and they don’t cause any problems.”
He is also concerned that semi-truck drivers will no longer be able to park overnight.
“We’ve got truck drivers that park here overnight. Where are they gonna go? Sometimes, it’s trucks that deliver stuff to my business,” said Brummer.
One community member who supports the new ordinance says he hopes the city will create a safe parking program that will give people living out of their RVs a sense of stability.
“I would actually advocate for a safe parking program in Lompoc, but not in a residential neighborhood,” said Nikolenko.
The overnight parking ban will take effect in mid-June.
