East Wenatchee Changes Parking Code For RV’s, Pickup Trucks, More

East Wenatchee is updating its parking code after the city council voted to make some changes this week.  

Assistant City Attorney Sean Lewis says one change will let police to take action against violators of disabled parking. 

"Currently, interestingly enough, the city does not have any power to enforce violators of disabled parking spots," said Lewis. 

Another change will let pickup trucks legally use parking spots on city streets. 

The current vehicle length and width limitations make it technically illegal for most pickup trucks to do so. 

City councilors passed a resolution greenlighting the changes.  

East Wenatchee city staff are now adjusting language in the parking code to reflect the update. 

Council members also stripped the resolution of one proposal that deadlocked them a month ago. 

It’s illegal for recreational vehicles and boats to park on city right of ways in East Wenatchee. 

The city council removed a proposal in the resolution that would’ve given those vehicles a 48-hour grace period. 

The proposal was made by City Councilor Robert Tidd, who said it would give people time to prepare their vehicles for storage or summertime use. 

“That 48-hours gives me time to get it ready to use.” Tidd said. “Without having that 48-hours, I can expect a police officer at my door. And that’s happened to me, because neighbors will make calls.” 

The proposal was rejected after concerns were raised that people living in RV’s could create a nuisance by constantly moving them around. 

Police Chief Rick Johnson confirmed to councilor Sasha Sleiman that the 48-hour window gives a person in a RV leeway to move it frequently and puts officers in a position to have to "chase it around." 

People living in RVs are normally directed to one of two safe parks in Wenatchee that are designated for overnight use by those living in them. 

Johnson also said during the council meeting that East Wenatchee police don’t currently have the technology to track time spent by vehicles in parking spaces. He did mention there is equipment available specifically for that purpose costing about $15,000 a year. 

The city council was deadlocked on the resolution last month at a 3-3 vote. Sleiman was absent at that meeting, but this week made a motion to approve only the code changes for disabled parking and vehicle size for parking on city streets. 

The amended resolution without the 48-hour RV window passed by a 4-3 vote.