HIALEAH, Fla. – Hialeah officials banned the use of recreational vehicles for housing in residential areas and promised to enforce the measure with both tenants and landlords.
City council members voted 4-2 in favor of the measure that Hialeah Mayor Steve Bovo supports during a public meeting on Tuesday night at City Hall.
Bovo said some property owners have created illegal “trailer parks.” He said migrants were renting the RVs with “illegal connections through electrical outlets” and access to water and sewer.
“This is a safety issue,” Bovo said adding that those who are in violation will have their electricity and water disconnected and face hefty fines.
Council members Angelica Pacheco and Bryan Calvo were the two dissenting votes. Calvo said the measure will also punish residents who have commercial vehicles or boats on their properties.
“This is going to be huge for the city of Hialeah and we’re talking about $500 fines per day of violation,” Calvo said. “This is an over-burdensome regulation. it’s going to create a lot of headaches.”
Pacheco worries that the measure is going to hurt the most vulnerable. There is an affordable housing crisis.
“It’s causing panic among especially a lot of elderly people,” Pacheco said.
Bovo said he was concerned about the safety of the RVs during a hurricane and about the lack of background checks that may attract sexual predators.
Bovo said some residents were complaining about undesirable neighbors and there were nearly 200 RVs legally registered with the state, but he believes there are probably more.
Watch the video of a news conference (Spanish and English)