Washington trailer ordinance on the back burner

WASHINGTON — City council members in Washington have unanimously voted down an ordinance that would alter trailer, mobile home and RV parking rules in homeowners’ yards, saying they plan to wait while a committee drafts a more nuanced version of the policy.

The now-defeated measure would have limited the number of trailers on a residential property at a time, and made stricter rules about what kinds of vehicles could park in yards and what type of surfaces they had to sit on.

The idea met public skepticism, however, as some community members worried the rules were was too restrictive. Others said it was impossible to fairly enforce.

“We’re working on it, but kind of attacking it a different way,” Mayor Pro Tem Millie Youngquist said. “It’s not like we’re not going to have any ordinance about it. But we’re trying to word it in such a way that it’s enforceable, and it’s not going to be a lot more difficult for people.”

The city has formed a committee to work on the issue, comprised of Youngquist, a few council members, and members of the municipal nuisance committee.

Youngquist said she’d heard “some concern,” about the ordinance from community members, worried the policy would force them to relocate their heavier vehicles. That’s balanced against some property owners who say their neighbors’ yards are an eye sore, packed with too many trailers, or with heavy vehicles that tear up the grass.

“I think we wanted to give more input into it,” Youngquist said. “We decided that we really need to look at it a little more deeply, and just take a different tack on it … I think that first one was a little premature, we needed time to hash it out in a small group and do a little more discussion.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com