A shortage of recreational vehicle storage spaces in Langley may be part of the reason behind an illegal RV storage yard now being shut down by the Township.
In October, Township staffers first checked out the RV storage yard, in the back of an acreage in the 3300 block of 202 Street near Noel Booth Elementary.
More than 30 RVs, along with a few boats and other vehicles, were visible on Google Maps satellite view.
“They are not legally parked,” said Ramin Seifi, general manager of engineering and community development for Langley Township. “We are following up through [bylaw] enforcement.”
Bill Storie, a senior advisor to the Township who is interim manager of bylaw enforcement, said on Nov. 2 that the Township is working with the property owner to get them to comply.
At the same time, they don’t want to simply kick out every RV user who has parked their vehicles there for the winter.
“This late in the year, it’s hard to find any available space, it’s all taken up,” Storie said.
Although there was a rumour that people were living in the RVs, Storie said it appears to simply be somewhere people are storing them.
As for why there are so many RVs that need to be kept in storage, Storie noted the local bylaw that bans keeping RVs in front of local homes during the colder half of the year. RVs have to be parked behind or to the side of houses.
“It’s caused a bit of a backlog for finding space locally,” Storie said.
That bylaw was a bone of contention with local RV users for several years, starting around 2010. It prompted a number of angry letters to the editor, mostly from RV owners who didn’t have side yards wide enough for them to park an RV.
RVs can be parked in front of homes between mid-May and mid-September.
Craigslist has listings for a number of backyard properties in Langley and Surrey offering storage of RVs, with costs ranging from $50 to $150 per month. Professional storage yards typically charge towards the high end of that range.
