No sign hints of an RV park in place on a commercial lot on Vale’s north side.
A dirt driveway leads off U.S. Highway 26. Two homes sit in the center of the property. There is no name for the park, no publicly listed telephone number.
But travel trailers are parked in a line in the park that emerged without the required approvals from government officials.
The number of paying customers isn’t clear, though signs showing spots number up to at least seven.
The property is owned by Dan and Lana Andrews of Vale, who in turn have leased the spot to a tenant in a home on the ground, Marc Sisario.
Sisario for now doesn’t want to talk about the park, which sits across from Producers Livestock sale yard. He also rents another property from the Andrews on A Street, where three RVs are camped.
Sisario said in a text he’s trying to find professional help to comply with government regulations.
That won’t be cheap, according to Lana Andrews. She said in an interview that Sisario has been told just the professional engineering would cost about $50,000.
But the Andrews have been on notice from the city of Vale for more than a year that something has to be done.
That upsets Andrews. She said she checked with city officials before she bought the property and was told that its commercial zoning allowed her to do what she wanted.
“I made sure we could do something like that before we did it,” she said.
She said Sisario is responsible for meeting the requirements.
She said she didn’t know how many tenants were on the highway property or what Sisario is charging. She assumes it’s not much.
“There are so many homeless people,” Andrews said. “They can’t afford the other park.”
Vale has three established parks, one just a couple blocks away from Sisario’s operation.
She said Sisario had electric service installed for each of the sites. She said a portable cart is used to move sewage from the trailers to a septic system. The property has a water well and city water service, she said.
Todd Fuller, Vale city manager, confirmed the city put the owners on notice about a year ago.
“To continue operating as an RV park within Vale city limits, several requirements must still be completed to comply with local, county and state regulations,” the letter to the Andrews said.
A separate bathroom and laundry may be required if the park has five or more tenants, the letter said. The letter said that absent a qualified RV park, the owners can have no more than two RVs on the property.
Fuller said in a recent interview that the city has heard little from the Andrews or Sisario since the notice.
Fuller said he’s asked for guidance from city attorneys on next steps – “what can we legally do to move this ahead.”
“We don’t want to kick people to the curb,” he said.
Andrews is concerned about that as well, even considering writing to Gov. Tina Kotek about the situation. She noted the governor has been vocal about the shortage of housing in Oregon.
“I don’t know how this is going to come out,” she said.
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