On Monday, the City Council will hold a public hearing and first reading of a new ordinance to regulate overnight RV parking in selected city locations. Seaside is mapping out places where vans or motor homes could be permitted to stay overnight.

At a March 30 meeting of the Houseless Task Force, members narrowed down the locations and with other corrections, hoped to bring the proposed ordinance before the City Council.

The new rules come as the city faces pressure to clear a makeshift RV camp used by the homeless on city property at Necanicum Drive between 10th and 11th avenues. Last week authorities responded to a spill from a leaking tank from one of the motor homes.

The material was taken to the city’s wastewater treatment plant for disposal.

Mayor Jay Barber said the spill showed the need for an overnight camping ordinance.

“I’m concerned about making sure we protect the rights of the people that are camping there,” the mayor said. “But I’m also concerned that we protect the rights of the citizens that live in the houses that are housed around them. And I worry a bit about the liability for the city. I sense a kind of a boiling pot there. And I’m concerned about it.”

Cities are trying to balance legal concerns with the practical challenges of responding to homelessness. Court rulings and state law make it difficult to restrict homeless camping in public places if there are not adequate shelter beds available.

The task force, an outgrowth of a year of public forums on homelessness, aims to produce legislation that will clear overnight camping on city property by creating permitted alternatives.Vehicles, including vans or motor homes, would need to be registered in compliance with vehicle insurance responsibilities.

The ordinance in Seaside would require people to obtain permits to camp and limit the hours from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m.

“They’re there for 12 hours, and then it’s going to be time to move along and go somewhere else during the day,” Chief Dave Ham, a member of the Seaside Houseless Task Force, said.

Vehicles, including vans or motor homes, would need to be registered in compliance with vehicle insurance responsibilities.

“We’re all playing on the same playing field,” Ham said. “And so in this particular case, we’re regulating, place, manner, where you’re asleep and where you park. In doing so, we’ve still got to be part of society and play by the rules.”

Noncompliant vehicles will be towed, stored or disposed.

This will not be a “free service,” Ham said. “There’s going to be a cost associated with this. I can’t tell you what that’s going to be but it’s going to add up.”

The task force narrowed down options to eight areas throughout the city, intending to prevent between one and five camping spots in each location. Locations have yet to be finalized.

Permitted overnight camping sites will be listed in a separate policy. Proposed locations for limited numbers of permitted vehicles include parts of Shore Terrace, Necanicum Drive on the east side of the 300 block, Cartwright Park, Avenue G on the north side of the 500 block and Mill Ponds Park. All vehicles participating in the city’s program for temporary camping must be registered and display unexpired registration places with current tags.

According to the ordinance, it will be unlawful for any person to camp in these locations from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Permission may be revoked by the city if the person or group violates city laws or ordinances. Permits, available for free, would allow campers to park nightly for three weeks before being required to move their vehicles. Private homeowners, nonprofits and churches may also receive permits to allow tents or RVs overnight.Vehicles without permits could be subject to ticketing or towing. Camping would be prohibited in all public park areas, all publicly owned parking lots and restrooms. Residential areas where camping would be prohibited are also listed in the ordinance.

“We’ve been working to develop a camping ordinance that we hope and believe could stand up to the legal challenges that we know have happened in other areas,” Barber said at the task force meeting. “The most notable legal challenge is the Boise decision that really is kind of guiding all cities and jurisdictions.”

The city is still awaiting input from their insurance agency, CIS, and City Attorney Dan Van Thiel.

Meanwhile, with an ordinance on the horizon, authorities are looking to clear the makeshift RV camp off Necanicum. The camp has grown from a handful of vehicles to more than 20.

Ham said the city will begin notifying people parked there that they need to start preparing to leave. “That’s the letter basically saying, ‘Hey, you need to be preparing that in the next couple of months, you are going to need to have other arrangements made,” he said.