MONROE - The Monroe Wal-Mart is known by many as a place where people with RVs and campers can park for the night.
But what about Super Wal-Mart once it opens in 2009? Or the Menards megastore?
A spokesman for Monroe's Wal-Mart who didn't want to be identified said the store has seen more overnight campers who stake out a place in line for new entertainment releases, such as the latest Harry Potter book and the Nintendo Wii game system.
But as for real, traveling campers with RVs, "any member of Sam's Club can park at any Wal-Mart parking lot.
"We ask them to be established members," the Wal-Mart spokesman said. "And we ask them to park at the very end - no bonfires and stuff."
Drivers of RVs and campers will be allowed to park overnight at the Super Wal-Mart, but not at Menards.
Jeff Abbott, spokesperson for Menards company headquarters, reseached their company policy and discovered that Menards is not set up for RVs and campers staying overnight in their lots.
"As a privately-owned company, Menards doesn't have insurance to cover overnight parking," he said. "It is the local store's decision" as to how to handle the issue.
He said it's not likely the Monroe store will allow overnight RV parking.
According to Monroe city administrator Mark Vahlsing, no special wording was included in the future stores' PUDs or development agreements that would restrict overnight parking.
Monroe Police Chief Fred Kelley said there are no city ordinances presently restricting parking in lots of large-scale retailers.
Monroe ordinances restrict camping in its parks and city lots, but the store parking lots are private property, Kelley said.
"If the unit is self-contained and you're not 'living' there. But with electric and water, then you get into 'structures,' and codes come into play," Kelley said.
And it depends upon how long a camper is there.
Kelley said problems with people using parking lots as a gathering place in recent years met with disapproval from a couple businesses. The gatherings resulted in loitering and littering which bothered their customers.
In those incidents, Kelley said, he advised store owners that they could post signs restricting parking to unattended vehicles only, or closing the lot during certain hours. In those cases, police are able to help stores with trespassers.
Doug Adrian, assistant manager of Dick's Piggly Wiggly, said there have been vehicles that have broken down, been left in the lot and retrieved after a couple days.
But as for camping, he said, "As far as I can tell it's on a case-by-case basis. We're not going to advertise it, but if someone comes to us and asked," it could be allowed, Adrian said.
Kelley said city parks have their rules with the power of ordinances. In city lots, any vehicle parked over 48 hours is considered a "problem." Although Kelley said "we'd allow for emergencies" if the city is notified of the situation.
But what about Super Wal-Mart once it opens in 2009? Or the Menards megastore?
A spokesman for Monroe's Wal-Mart who didn't want to be identified said the store has seen more overnight campers who stake out a place in line for new entertainment releases, such as the latest Harry Potter book and the Nintendo Wii game system.
But as for real, traveling campers with RVs, "any member of Sam's Club can park at any Wal-Mart parking lot.
"We ask them to be established members," the Wal-Mart spokesman said. "And we ask them to park at the very end - no bonfires and stuff."
Drivers of RVs and campers will be allowed to park overnight at the Super Wal-Mart, but not at Menards.
Jeff Abbott, spokesperson for Menards company headquarters, reseached their company policy and discovered that Menards is not set up for RVs and campers staying overnight in their lots.
"As a privately-owned company, Menards doesn't have insurance to cover overnight parking," he said. "It is the local store's decision" as to how to handle the issue.
He said it's not likely the Monroe store will allow overnight RV parking.
According to Monroe city administrator Mark Vahlsing, no special wording was included in the future stores' PUDs or development agreements that would restrict overnight parking.
Monroe Police Chief Fred Kelley said there are no city ordinances presently restricting parking in lots of large-scale retailers.
Monroe ordinances restrict camping in its parks and city lots, but the store parking lots are private property, Kelley said.
"If the unit is self-contained and you're not 'living' there. But with electric and water, then you get into 'structures,' and codes come into play," Kelley said.
And it depends upon how long a camper is there.
Kelley said problems with people using parking lots as a gathering place in recent years met with disapproval from a couple businesses. The gatherings resulted in loitering and littering which bothered their customers.
In those incidents, Kelley said, he advised store owners that they could post signs restricting parking to unattended vehicles only, or closing the lot during certain hours. In those cases, police are able to help stores with trespassers.
Doug Adrian, assistant manager of Dick's Piggly Wiggly, said there have been vehicles that have broken down, been left in the lot and retrieved after a couple days.
But as for camping, he said, "As far as I can tell it's on a case-by-case basis. We're not going to advertise it, but if someone comes to us and asked," it could be allowed, Adrian said.
Kelley said city parks have their rules with the power of ordinances. In city lots, any vehicle parked over 48 hours is considered a "problem." Although Kelley said "we'd allow for emergencies" if the city is notified of the situation.