Council rejects ban on sales in right-of-way
Wednesday, March 18, 2009 - 9:23 pm
Mayor calls decision a "disservice"
By Larry Peirce
Banner-Press Editor
City Councilman Gary Kroesing said that the sale of privately owned vehicles along Fourth Street is not a problem that requires new city rules.
Speaking at the March 11 City Council meeting, he said that in 32 years of daily driving past the block in question, between D and E on Fourth Street, he has never seen a problem.
With that, he explained that he was sticking with his convictions and voting against rules which were first proposed in January, and which had passed on the first two readings.
The first two readings on the regulations were 4-3, with Mayor Dana Trowbridge voting yes to break a 3-3 tie.
This time Councilman Bill Yindrick, who had voted yes the first two times, was absent. The mayor didn't get to vote, and the third and final reading failed, 2-3.
Kroesing joined Councilmen Bill Scribner and Mike Rogers who voted no for the third time; Nick Hein and Gary Smith voted yes.
"I think you've done this city a disservice from an economic development standpoint," Trowbridge said after the vote.
Replied Kroesing: "If I see this is going to be a problem, I'll be the first to bring this up."
"I might vote against it," Trowbridge said.
The discussion started with Smith asking why the council had voted 3-3 on the first two readings.
"I can't understand the problem with passing this," Smith said.
Kroesing said that every workday he drives on Fourth Street to and from his job at Butler Public Power District.
"I have never once seen a clutter of vehicles for sale or anything that looks shabby or shouldn't have been on that street. Why do we invent more laws for problems that aren't there?"
He turned to the audience and Janis Cameron, owner of True Value Hardware, and asked if the sale of cars on the street had become a problem.
Cameron said that on March 10, the length of the block was filled with cars of people doing business in the courthouse. The parking spots are needed for people who have business downtown, she said.
Had she noticed the cars for sale to be a problem? Kroesing asked.
"There have been times." Cameron said. "It looks tacky. It's just the idea that when there are three or four cars (for sale) they're making it look like a used car lot."
Said Kroesing: "I've never seen that."
Cameron: "It has happened, and it has happened in the last five years."
Trowbridge asked Kroesing if the county allowed people to sell cars in the courthouse parking lot.
"If you move it daily," Kroesing said.
Kroesing added that in two instances when he sold cars along Fourth Street, he asked about it in the Sheriff's Office, even though the Sheriff's Office does not control right of way parking on Fourth Street.
"I wanted to know if they had a problem with it," Kroesing said.
Scribner explained his vote against the measure. He said he had one e-mail in favor of the regulations but mostly comments against it.
"I've been stopped numerous times by people . . . and had people voicing their concerns against this," Scribner said.
He said with the tough economy, two people told him they want to be able to sell anything they want. He asked why people can't have a 'for sale' sign in their car if they are doing business downtown. Citizens pay taxes on their cars so they should be able to park in a public place, he said.
Cameron replied that the taxes paid on a car are for maintaining streets, not the privilege of selling cars downtown.
"What's the difference between parking there (with a for sale sign) and going into your store?" Scribner asked.
"You can," Trowbridge said. "You can do that under this ordinance."
The ordinance would not prevent people from having a 'for sale' sign in their car while they are downtown to shop or work. It would ban parking there solely for the purpose of selling a car.
"The people that have stopped you probably have not read this," Trowbridge said.
Scribner: "They probably haven't, but I have to stick with my constituents."
Another citizen in the audience, Carolyn Yates, recalled that the request for regulations came from Police Chief Steve Sunday, who wanted a city ordinance to allow him to remove vehicles. In January, Sunday had noted that the state law prohibiting the sale of vehicles on state right-of-way was not sufficient on city right-of-way.
Kroesing repeated his reasoning: "Do I want to turn downtown into a parking lot of used cars and used trucks and whatever? No, I do not. If I saw an ugly situation, I would be the first to complain about it."
City Administrator Joe Johnson offered his observation. He said the owners of Runza restaurant south of D Street had complained that a neighboring business parked a wrecked car, for sale, on a trailer in front of their store.
"They have said, 'We have junk cars parked next to us. The guy bought them wrecked and is trying to sell them on Fourth Street.'"
"My answer to her is not good for the city. I must say, 'I'm sorry, I can't do anything about it, because we can't enforce that.'"
