A Panama City man faced city magistrate in controversial RV case

PANAMA CITY, Fla. ( WMBB ) — The recreational vehicle case that has sparked a lot of controversy in Panama City went before a city magistrate Thursday morning.

During the hearing, Briarcliff resident Russell Reynolds admitted the camper parked in his driveway violates city code.

“Is my camper in violation of an unenforceable code? Yes, it is,” Reynolds said.

But he doesn’t plan on moving it anytime soon.

“They gave me 45 days to move it. I don’t have a problem with that. I have 44 days to help get this code changed,” Reynolds said.

Reynolds says the current recreational vehicle ordinance is unfairly enforced, singling out those who receive complaints.

“The problem is I’m being singled out. There are so many campers, there are so many boats in this town, but somebody has to make a complaint,” Reynolds said.

Panama City officials say they understand Reynolds’ frustrations, but they say they don’t have the manpower to enforce every violation.

“We have four code enforcement officers throughout the entire city. Because we’re structured like that, we pursue complaints when we receive them,” Panama City Development Services Director Michael Fuller said.

Reynolds’ son claims code enforcement officers ignore other violations, but city officials don’t see it that way.

“If I get pulled over, but I tell the police officer, why aren’t you pulling over all these other people that are speeding? That doesn’t excuse the fact that I’ve been speeding,” Fuller said.

The neighbor who filed the complaint, Eric Wimberly, says Reynolds needs to comply to remove any safety hazards.

“It is a safety issue for anybody using that sidewalk. He cannot see backing out of his driveway until he’s already possibly hitting someone on the sidewalk,” Wimberly said.

Reynolds has 45 days to comply with the recreational vehicle ordinance. If he fails to comply, the city will schedule another hearing to determine what type of fines he will face.

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