ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The city of St. Petersburg is working to erase so-called eye sores downtown.
Thursday afternoon, city leaders will take a closer look at "van life" and where drivers can set up camp.
This comes after many complaints came into the city from residents within the city limits who say oversized RVs, large busses and conversion vans are taking up too much space and for too long.
Pictures provided by the city, as well as video 10 Tampa Bay recorded near Vinoy Park, show how widespread the issue has become. Reporter Andrea Lyon counted at least six conversion vans parked at North Shore, and many more RVs stationed throughout the nearby streets across from homes and condo buildings.
Some call this trend of out-of-towners crashing in their vehicles, "stealth camping."
Despite current city code limiting the amount of time "domestic equipment" can be parked and where residents say the problem persists.
But soon, change could be coming that will narrow the kinds of vans allowed to park within the city limits.
According to the City of St. Petersburg's agenda, a public hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 18 to discuss the issue, and propose an amendment to the ordinance.
If passed, the new ordinance would impose a four-hour time limit and would now include passenger vans that have been modified to support the "van life" lifestyle, where people use the vehicle to live, camp out of or use for long-term recreation. It would also include vans or RVs 24 feet or longer.
10 Tampa Bay spoke with visitors who use an RV to travel, and they explained there must be a balance for those living in St. Petersburg and those who indulge in the "van life" experience.
"One of the big things here is that wanting us to not park on the street, then open up three or four available spots for RVs and it doesn't have to be the really large ones, it doesn't have to be for the 40-footers, that's not usually what you're seeing down here anyway," said Jylliane Czanstokowski, who traveled from Texas to St. Petersburg to enjoy the winter weather. "But open up a couple of spots for RVs to come down here and then we are not in the street and we are not in the way."
The amended city code would not apply to regular passenger vans used to get from point A to point B; it would strictly enforce parking regulations for the modified conversion vans, RVs and busses used to live in or camp out of.
See the proposed ordinance amendment here, which starts on page 115 of the agenda.