Moses Lake continues to address RVs being used as residences

MOSES LAKE — The city of Moses Lake is preparing to post “No Trespassing” signs along Central Drive and the Moses Lake Police Department is preparing eviction notices for the owners of the nine RVs now parked along the street, according to an email exchange between City Manager Allison Williams and property owner Ted Yao.

“Your rep has authorized our trespass and ‘No Trespass’ signage is being prepared,” Williams wrote in the email exchange with Yao on Friday. “Our police department is preparing notices to vacate your property that will be delivered to those who are there. The notice is required and will provide 30 days to vacate.”

In a response to the Columbia Basin Herald, Williams said the city is still working through a final location for the vehicles and their residents and would have an announcement on the signs sometime this week.

The issue of the RVs parked in stub-out streets along N. Central Drive intended for future development has been the subject of much discussion by the Moses Lake City Council during its last few meetings. As the result of a 2021 Washington State Supreme Court decision in the case of a Yakima man against the city of Seattle, the city of Moses Lake has determined it cannot tow RVs parked on public property, such as city streets, or impound those vehicles unless it has a place for the vehicles and their residents to permanently park.

While the stub-outs provide opportunities for future city street development, they are currently on roughly 44 acres of private property and owned by Ted Yao, who wrote in emails to Williams that he has several investments in the United States and is currently a legal resident of Sweden.

According to the Washington Association of Cities, the court ruled such RVs and other vehicles used as residences are protected from seizure under the state’s homestead act, which was intended to keep people in their primary homes during bankruptcy filings, and limits the kinds of fines that can be imposed on the basis of a vehicle owner’s ability to pay.

While the court found that Seattle could continue to levy fines and tow vehicles, cities interpret the ruling as limiting the ability to tow or impound vehicles unless there is a permanent place for people to park and live.

The city established its homeless sleep center in response to an analogous ruling from the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in late 2019, which found that homeless people cannot be penalized for sleeping on public property if no other alternatives exist. In fact, the Washington Association of Cities on its website suggests towns and cities designate a safe parking area for RVs and limit the enforcement of ordinances against vehicles suspected of being used as homes.

Charles H. Featherstone can be reached at cfeatherstone@columbiabasinherald.com.