Published: December 17, 2008 04:24 pm      

City to look at yard sale measure

Residents only allowed two yard sales per year.

By Adam Smith

The North Jefferson News



Gardendale homeowners who have weekly or monthly yard sales may soon find themselves under scrutiny from city officials.

Resident Dan Yeager spoke to the city council Monday night and requested that action be taken by the city against some of his Ward 3 neighbors who he claims have two to three yard sales each month.

Yeager said the sales, which he said take place on Ardella Circle and Peterson Drive, are a source of traffic and safety concerns.

“We’ve got kids on bicycles and skateboards on streets where there are cars parked on both sides of the road,” he told the council.

The council passed a yard sale ordinance in 2005 that limits homeowners to just two yard sales per year and each sale can last no longer than two consecutive days.

The ordinance prohibits those conducting or attending the sales from blocking traffic or “creating hazardous driving conditions.”

Gardendale inspector Robert Ryant said the ordinance was put into place after residents voiced concerns similar to Yeager’s and after some residents complained that yard sale shoppers were parking in yards and causing damage.

Ryant said the yard sale measure also poses an issue if residents are conducting yard sales in a business-like manner, instead of just as a means to clean out clutter from basements and attics.

“We didn’t have an ordinance prior to 2005 because we never had a problem,” Ryant said. “if it’s a business, it doesn’t need to be in a residential area. R-1 (residential zoning classification) does not allow for commercial types of business to be in a neighborhood unless it’s set up like an office.”

However, the city does not currently have a way to enforce the ordinance. The 2005 ordinance says violators can be prosecuted or have the yard sale shut down, but it does not include any additional penalties for the offense.

Gardendale Mayor Othell Phillips said the council would look at the ordinance and possibly retool the bill so it can be enforced. “Times have changed and we need to look at several ordinances that we have,” he said.

In other business, the council:

• rejected bids for the purchase of a playing surface for the Miracle League field project, located at Luman Harris Park. The bids were opened at the Dec. 1 council meeting, but after meetings between Miracle League organizers and the city’s parks and recreation department, it was determined that the specifications of the surface did not meet the criteria needed for the field. The new bids will be due back and opened at the Jan. 5 council meeting.

• approved an off-premises retail beer license application for Fieldstown Chevron, located at 565 Fieldstown Road

• authorized a new street light on North Hills Circle

• authorized a new fire hydrant on Guy Allen Road

• hired employees for the public library and promoted two other employees in the parks and recreation department.