Commissioners weigh whether seasonal RVs qualify as dwellings under draft code

Commissioners debated whether short-term RV housing for farmworkers or contract crews should be treated as dwelling units under the county's draft zoning code. A commissioner outlined a common scenario: landowners with existing septic, power and water offering RV hookups for workers or subcontractors who stay two to three months each season, asking whether that arrangement would be allowed by right or trigger park-style permitting.

Staff answered that the code's current dwelling-unit definition requires a building with a foundation. "It's definitely a building," the planning staff said, explaining that vehicles such as RVs are treated differently in the draft and in state guidance. Commissioners and staff noted a related state-code threshold for temporary structures of 180 days and contrasted that with local transient-occupancy provisions which generally regulate much shorter stays.

Commissioners raised enforcement and public-safety concerns about energizing undeveloped land and enabling long-term camping, noting that the state regulates commercial RV parks while the county's camping ordinance and local zoning must address in-between cases. One commissioner described the small-scale rental economics behind the idea: "I could make $40 a month for 1 of these subcontractors when they're here for 3 months," and asked whether those micro-leases should be permitted or require a use permit.

The discussion touched on several options staff could pursue before the joint meeting: clarifying the dwelling-unit definition, specifying limits on number or duration of RV stays when tied to a property use (for example, fire camps or seasonal agricultural work), and maintaining prohibitions that would prevent unregulated RV-park development. Staff recommended confirming how state code language on temporary structures interacts with the draft local code and preparing suggested limiting language for the joint review.