Let’s say one’s neighbors invite friends to bring their recreational vehicle and spend a weekend on the property.

Many Auburn residents might be OK with that.

But when the neighbor’s relatives or friends park an RV there and live in it for months, some people are anything but OK about it.

Or when the manager of a business allows a caretaker to stay on his or her lot to keep an eye on things.

From time to time, Auburn residents tell City Code Enforcement Officers that this version of RV living is bad for their neighborhoods.

And they’ve been asking the City to do something about it.

Problem is, while the Auburn City Code today provides definitions, permitting requirements and development regulations for RV parks, it has had zip to say about how the City should regulate RV living outside of RV parks.

That situation is likely to change within two weeks when, as expected, the City establishes regulations that describe the permitting requirements, circumstances, and time spans under which they will allow people to live in RVs.

As per usual procedure, City Councilmembers had their first reading of the proposed rules Monday night, meaning the measure should come back for an up or down vote at the next council meeting.

City staff’s initial recommendation precluded the use of an RV as a dwelling unit in all instances outside of an RV park except upon issuance of a temporary use permit during the construction of a permanent single-family residence. Planning Commissioners and City Council suggested that provisions should be included that allow an RV to be placed and used on a residential property that already has a single-family home for a limited time.

Staff incorporated a provision that creates a no-fee registration program, allowing for an RV to be temporarily placed on a residential property for up to 90 calendar days with an allowance for a single 90-day extension. The original draft included a $214 fee to be processed under a temporary use permit.

“There is no fee. It does allow a person, if they are able to provide some justification or reasoning, the City would grant an additional 90 days. So, 90 plus 90 potentially, at the most,” Jeff Tate, assistant director of Community Development for the City of Auburn told the Council.

“I am pleased to see that we are doing the no-fee approach,” said Councilmember Largo Wales. “Some people do it recreationally living in front of grandma’s house or something. But the majority of people choose not to live under those conditions. Adding the additional burden of having to pay a fee when many times they’re financially distressed anyway would cause us not to have the people we needed sign the registry so we know where they are.”

Here’s what other local cities do:

• The City of Kent allows an RV to be used as a temporary dwelling unit, provided the interval does not exceed 90 days, and that the use of the RV is consistent with the underlying zone. What it means is that Kent lets people live in an RV in residential and mixed-use zones for up to 90 days, but prohibits them from living in RVs in commercial and industrial zones.

• The City of Puyallup allows people to use RVs as temporary lodging on the site of an active construction project, but for no longer than six months. The City also requires that the owner obtain a temporary use permit to place the RV and to use it as temporary lodging.

• The cities of Federal Way, Renton and Tacoma do not permit anyone to live in an RV outside of an approved RV park.