Washington trailer, yard parking ordinance back on agendas

WASHINGTON — Months after a sweeping change in city yard parking rules was sent to a committee for revisions, Washington City Council Members are hoping to pass a revised version of the policy.

The debate started in February, when two residents complained that their neighbor’s habit of parking three trailers on an all-weather surface in a backyard had created an “eyesore” of a view their living room.

The resulting ordinance proposal would have set a cap of two trailers parked on a property at once, and require that all operable vehicles parked outside be kept on all-weather surfaces accessible from a street or driveway, even if they’re in a backyard or side yard. The policy also would have banned most motor homes, motor sports recreational vehicles and commercial vehicles from parking in town. But that proposal met public skepticism from community members who complained it was too restrictive, or impossible to fairly enforce.

In the months since, the policy’s been reworked by a team of city officials including the mayor, council members, and the municipal nuisance committee. A new version was announced at a council meeting July 2.

“We’ve got a number of individuals across town that have a boat, a trailer, a camper,” City Council Member Patrick Morgan said. “We want to make sure, if it’s something that’s permanent, let’s put it on a hard surface, but let’s work with you on how we do that.”

The revised ordinance change would allow vehicles to park in back or side yards, either on an all-weather surface like pavement or gravel, or on the grass for up to 72 consecutive hours. Front yard parking outside of driveways, however, is banned under the new proposal if the vehicle stays in place more than 24 hours.

That’s a change from the current code, which allows indefinite backyard storage of “vehicles, materials, supplies or related equipment,” but limits front and side yard parking to 24 hours only, and limits it exclusively to all-weather surfaces, not grass.

Previously proposed restrictions on sport recreational vehicles, motor homes and commercial vehicles are absent from the new proposal. But it would expand the city’s definition of a “junk vehicle” to include those lacking an up-to-date registration, or any that are unable to move both forward and backward, whether it’s a car, truck or trailer.

The revisions would also remove a poorly worded and unenforced clause of the current city code, which inadvertently bans any operable cars from parking outdoors.

In a memo to city council members, Washington Code Enforcement Officer Anna Duwa said the suggested changes were based on similar laws in other cities close to Washington’s size.

The new version isn’t without its complaints. The Minick family — still disgruntled about their neighbor’s trailer parking — said they were out of the loop about the revisions, despite making efforts to get updates from the city.

And the latest amendments likely wouldn’t address their concerns. While the ordinance proposed in February would have limited residents to no more than two trailers parked in their yard at a time, that restriction was struck from the new version of the policy.

“Our issues were not these issues,” Bob Minick said.

The ordinance proposal passed its first reading with a unanimous vote at the July 2 council meeting. Enactment requires three consecutive votes of approval at separate meetings.

Mayor Millie Youngquist promised to meet with the Minick family before the council’s next meeting on July 16, and said the city would continue to hear public comments on the ordinance proposal in the coming weeks.

“If you have other comments to make, you can make them at subsequent meetings,” she said after the Minicks made remarks outside the July 2 meeting’s designated public comment period. “We’ll discuss it.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com