Montana county kills off street camping

Butte County, Montana may be in Big Sky Country, but there's no pie in that sky for free RV parking advocates. With the snows of winter melting and minds of residents (or visitors) turning to using the RV, the county is gearing up for forced compliance of its RV parking ordinances.

Specifically, don't plan on parking your RV anywhere in the county on a public byway or public property, at least if your plans mean leaving it parked for more than two days. A county ordinance, created ostensibly to protect children, prohibits parking your RV or boat trailer for more than 48 hours, lived in or not. The reasoning says a child might run out to the street from behind your rig, and could be hit by a passing motorist who fails to see the child because of your behemoth there beside the road.

quinn.anya on flickr.com with permission

Some RVers have circumvented such laws in other localities by simply jumping in the rig and moving it a couple of feet forward of back. Not so in Butte County -- you'll need to move it at least 300 feet to avoid getting a ticket for $25. And while we're on it, "curb stoning" (parking your rig in a choice spot with a "for sale" sign on it) is also out.

Helping to put a few more teeth in the ordinance, the city is investing in software to help enforcement officers track vehicles where folks try to get around the parking ordinance, or those who fail to pay their tickets. For the latter, they may find their RV with new boots, that is, a special clamp put on the rig, preventing them from moving the rig until they take care of their past-due tickets.