Palo Alto Council Candidates Split Over How Fast to Ban Overnight RV Parking

People living in RVs on Palo Alto streets dominated a City Council candidate forum on Oct. 7, where the eight people running for three seats agreed the city needs to act but disagreed on how quickly.

The 90-minute forum at Mitchell Park Community Center, organized by the Palo Alto Weekly, featured Bryna Chang, Yudy Deng, Henry Etzkowitz, Brian Hamachek, Gary Gechlik, Raymond Goins, Ed Lauing and Mayor Vicki Veenker, Palo Alto Online reported.

Ban now, or ban in phases

Most candidates backed some mix of more housing options for vehicle dwellers and a ban on overnight parking for oversized vehicles. Etzkowitz said the trailers should be out of neighborhoods "now." Veenker favored an incremental ban. Chang, who chairs the Planning and Transportation Commission, said the city must offer housing options but should move faster toward a ban.

In earlier interviews with the Palo Alto Daily Post, candidates laid out more detail. The Post reported about 150 RV dwellers living on city streets, and the council has already voted to permit around 40 RVs on Embarcadero Road and Coyote Hill Road. Lauing, a sitting councilman, called it "the top issue" and suggested signs at city entrances barring RVs without a permit. Chang proposed prohibiting RV parking from 2 to 5 a.m. Deng called for consistent enforcement of the existing 72-hour parking limit. Gechlik suggested a paid, security-staffed RV park at the Baylands duck pond. Veenker told the Post a citywide ban is premature because some dwellers could move into parks or garages, and said large employers such as Stanford and Google should help provide parking.

At the forum, Goins, who said he was once homeless, challenged Chang's stance and compared it to President Donald Trump's vow to "clean up" Washington, D.C.

Grading the city manager

Candidates also graded City Manager Ed Shikada. Gechlik and Deng gave him high marks. Chang and Lauing each gave him a C, with Lauing criticizing the city's "turtle pace" on priorities such as beautifying California Avenue, and Hamachek gave him a C-minus, saying residents' wishes aren't trickling down.

Chang and Deng also clashed over permit delays. Deng said business owners described unclear and conflicting requirements, while Chang argued much of the delay in a case Deng highlighted came from incomplete applications, not city staff.