City leaders admit the old municipal rules governing the parking of recreational vehicles in Manteca were confusing, weren’t necessarily fair to RV owners and non-RV owners and were difficult at best to enforce.

They are hopeful the new rules they adopted Tuesday night will satisfy both RV owners and their neighbors, address safety concerns in terms of keeping sightlines clear and making it easy to defend homes against fire, as well as make the rules clear enough that they can be understood and enforced.

The primary changes in the ordinance are as follows:

• The definition of an oversized vehicle or boat is established as ones that exceed 102 inches wide in height of 42 feet in length.

• It expands the number of recreational vehicles allowed to be maintained on a residential property to any number that can be stored with a legal structure, in a side yard or within 25 percent of the back yard of the residence but still restricts the residence to one oversized vehicle or boat.

• It requires the RV storage areas have impermeable surfaces on which the vehicles are to park. It also establishes standard screening requirements.

• It establishes a mandatory three-foot separation between any RV and the side of any building including appurtenances to the building but not including the eaves.

• It allows the owners of RVs to park the vehicle in their front yard or on the public street directly in front of their residence for up to 24 hours in any consecutive 72-hour period to wash, load or unload the vehicle. They may not, though, block sidewalks or obstruct the view of the street traffic from any adjoining property.

The new rules go into effect in 60 days.