Owners of recreational vehicles have rights, too

Regarding the Sept. 8 issue, page 4 starts with the T.O. Acorn’s opinion piece, “Be prepared for disaster.”

The next column (letters) contains correspondence from Jerry Edgar, complaining about the RV “situation” growing worse.

I take umbrage with Mr. Edgar’s position:

1. Having an RV at home, loaded with water and provisions, is the ultimate earthquake preparedness. Immediately after the Northridge earthquake, while living in Encino, my wife and and I cooked breakfast for our neighbors, turned on the TV so that we all knew what was happening and provided a toilet.

2. Mr. Edgar writes, “Those that park their RVs behind a fence are not hiding anything.” In my opinion we are not trying to “hide”—merely to remove the RV from the front of the house and put it behind the setback— thereby preserving the spirit of the setback and leaving the feeling of open space that the setback provides in the neighborhood. Mr. Edgar reminds me of the neighbor who complained that someone was sunbathing in the nude in a backyard, but she had to climb a ladder and use binoculars to see the sunbather!

3. Mr. Edgar asserts, “The majority simply park in the driveway.” How can he determine what a “majority” is? Even if he counts (which I doubt), how can he count those he cannot see? His assertion of a “fact” does not make it one.

4. Mr. Edgar is quick to tell his RV neighbors to get their vehicles to a storage lot. Even if one is available (which is questionable), their cost is $150 to $200 a month. Would he be willing to share that cost? Make it a city service that is paid with his property taxes? Why not? It is something that he feels would improve the city (which I do not agree with).

5. What would he do if his neighbors did not think that he took good enough care of his lawn and wanted him to spend $200 more on fertilizer, flowers, gardener, etc.? Or they determined the paint on his house was the wrong color?

When I purchased my home seven years ago, I carefully researched what the zoning laws were and selected my home based on those laws. Mr. Edgar does not have the right to change those laws. If he wants to live in an RVfree area, he should move to an area that has homeowners’ restrictions. Edward Ticktin Thousand Oaks