St. Pete City Council passes ordinance to crack down on van camping in the city

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Traveling to different destinations in renovated, livable passenger vans is becoming more and more popular. Some people even document their van life experiences on social media.

After continuous complaints from residents, though, St. Pete city leaders voted Thursday to limit how long the vehicles can park in the city. 

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Signs around St. Pete let people know camping and parking RVs overnight in city parking lots isn’t allowed. St. Pete City Council Member Gina Driscoll said there’s still a problem, though. 

"We’ve had a lot of complaints about folks who decide that the side of the street near our waterfront, especially, could be turned into a campground," she said.

"We’re seeing vans that are modified and basically made into little campers, and people are camping out on our streets, and there’s a safety issue with that. We’ve got sanitary issues with that, and we noticed that it was difficult to enforce because of the way our code is written," Driscoll said.

City code stated that domestic equipment, like full-sized buses, campers, houseboats, and RVS, were subject to parking time limits, but modified renovated passenger vans didn’t fall under the domestic equipment description.

"Our city is getting a description online as a haven for van lifers," Nick Bell, president of the Board of Directors of the Old Northeast Neighbors Association," said. "The board is concerned that we could be facing more and more of these vehicles if we don’t take action to restrict their parking access," he said.

Council members approved an ordinance Thursday in a six-to-one vote that amends the city code to include modified passenger vans under a four-hour time limit Monday through Thursday when parked adjacent to residential areas. Council Member Ritchie Floyd was the only vote against the ordinance.

"The four-hour timeframe gives everybody the opportunity to park and enjoy the waterfront parks and enjoy our city without making it an overnight stay or a week-long stay," Driscoll said. "Parking is already an issue right here and downtown especially, and we want to make sure that there’s plenty of parking available for those who are here to use the parking spaces appropriately."

Some, who didn’t want to go on camera, said they think the ordinance is unfair to people who travel in their vans, saying they’re tourists just like someone staying in a hotel.

The new ordinance goes into effect next week. It doesn’t apply to normal passenger vans that haven’t been modified.