Baker City Council Limits RV Street Parking, Makes Violators Pay Garbage Fees

Baker City Council endorsed revisions to two local ordinances that narrow how long travel trailers and motor homes may be parked on public streets and expand enforcement of property maintenance rules to include billing violators for garbage collection. The moves aim to address neighborhood sanitation, curbside parking pressure, and visible blight in residential areas.

At its Feb. 11 regular session the council backed a change to the city’s discarded-vehicle definition that treats any unlicensed vehicle as discarded regardless of condition, while licensed vehicles remain subject to the existing condition-based test. The existing ordinance defines a discarded vehicle as one that “is in one or more of the following conditions: inoperative, wrecked, dismantled or partially dismantled, abandoned, junked or which cannot be moved without being repaired or dismantled or is no longer safely useable for the purpose for which it was manufactured. This term shall also include, but not be limited to, major vehicle parts such as vehicle bodies, engines, transmissions.”

That definitional shift broadens enforcement reach because the ordinance’s storage and parking rule already bars discarded vehicles from public or private property for more than 72 hours unless specific exemptions apply. The ordinance currently states: “No person shall store or permit to store, accumulate, dismantle, park or place a discarded vehicle on public or private property for more than 72 hours unless it is completely enclosed within a legally permitted structure, entirely hidden behind a lawful, sight-obscuring fence, or covered with a vehicle cover which was manufactured for such use.” Exemptions for licensed dismantlers, licensed vehicle dealers, junk dealers, and lawfully conducted businesses under zoning rules remain unchanged.

Councilors also endorsed requiring people who violate the city’s property maintenance rules to pay for garbage collection. The revised maintenance language adds explicit container and interior standards: “All household garbage must be stored in receptacles that are free from holes and covered with tight fitting lids. Receptacles must be sufficient capacity to prevent the overflow of garbage and rubbish from occurring.” It further requires that “the interior of every dwelling must be maintained in a clean and sanitary condition and free from any egregious accumulation of rubbish or garbage so as not to breed insects and rodents, or produce dangerous or offensive gases, odors and bacteria, or any other unsanitary conditions, or create a fire hazard.”

Administrative work remains. Baker City Planning Department is the lead for drafting recommended code amendments and shepherding them through the legislative text amendment process, with partners including the development community, housing advocates, property owners, and residents. The city’s broader code-audit timetable notes adoption of recommended code changes by December 2027 with implementation in February 2028 for some audit items.

The council discussed related local items at the same meetings, including school-area on-street parking near the Baker Early Learning Center and a possible Main Street reconfiguration to improve pedestrian safety. Staff recommended targeted pick-up and drop-off restrictions on 7th Street and a school-day no-parking restriction on B Street, noting, “Staff concurs with the request to have restricted parking for Pick-up/Drop off times on 7th Street as well as the School day restriction of No Parking on B Street. Staff does not agree with making 8th Street No Parking on the east side.” City Manager Barry Murphy put Main Street costs to the city at $100,000 - $170,000 and said, “We’re going to try to see what kind of grants or matching funds ODOT can assist with.”

For residents, the practical effects will be immediate enforcement questions for people living in RVs or leaving vehicles unlicensed, and potential additional charges for homeowners whose properties trigger cleanup. Councilors endorsed the policy direction; the detailed ordinance text, specific new time limits for RV parking, and the mechanics of billing for garbage collection will be finalized as staff drafts the legislative amendments and the council considers formal adoption.