A non-profit group has filed a lawsuit challenging a Fullerton municipal code that outlaws people living in recreational vehicles on city streets without a valid permit, arguing that the restrictions target the homeless and disabled and violate the state constitution.
The suit filed in Orange County Superior Court on behalf of Housing Is a Human Right Orange County and several Fullerton residents challenges a city prohibition against “stopping or parking any recreational vehicle on city streets without a valid City-issued permit” by alleging that the law has “resulted in the arbitrary and discriminator expulsion of Orange County’s most vulnerable residents.”
“During this time of desperation for so many, and a desire by all communities to assist and house the unhoused, the city of Fullerton has instead taken steps to treat its most vulnerable residents as disposable — excluding those without conventional homes from the community, and disproportionally affecting many with disabilities,” attorneys with the Disability Rights Legal Center and the Kirkland & Ellis law firm wrote in the suit.
It asks that a judge block enforcement of the ordinance and order an unspecified amount of monetary restitution.
Police and city officials declined to comment, citing a policy not to discuss pending litigation.
Fullerton is one of many Orange County cities that have instituted restrictions on where and whether RVs can park on their streets. Some cities require permits that are only granted to local residents, while other cities have banned street parking for RVs.
