Village Board Approves Amended Trailer Ordinance

By Andrea Arens

After swearing in 3 board members, the board got down to business and unanimously approved the amended trailer ordinance that had been discussed.

Incumbents Gary Hudson and Julie Sluis were sworn in along with new Trustee Jackie Richards. New Trustee Todd Sandberg was absent due to a previous commitment and will be sworn in at the May 22nd meeting.

Afterwards, certificates were awarded to Trustees Patrick Bowden and Mike Jones for their years of service and accomplishment on the board. Mayor Peter March added that Bowden’s common sense and financial acumen helped the Village reduce deficits in both the budget and the pension fund. March also thanked Trustee Mike Jones for resurrecting the tree program and caring deeply for the appearance of the Village.

Awhile back, some residents received code violation citations for parking trailers in their driveway. The matter was then brought to committee to amend the code back in February.

From the committee meeting, residents are now allowed to park a utility trailer in their driveway or in side or back yard on a hard surface. A resident may own an RV and a trailer, or two trailers, but two is the limit. Only one can be parked in the driveway in the front. If two are owned, the additional can be parked on the side or in the back. The trailer can only be parked on gravel if the existing driveway is gravel.

If the trailer is parked in the side or rear yard, it needs to be 10 feet away from any adjacent dwelling. March said, “The thought behind that was do you want to have a big trailer parked next to you, looking out your kitchen window?”

Trailers have to be licensed and in working order and not blocking the sidewalk.

Trustee Nick Strba asked why the overnight parking was targeted at B plates. Chief DeMik replied that the current ordinance reads that anything over 3/4 ton is not allowed on the street and his car weighs more than that. To clarify, they amended the ordinance to reflect the state code.

Parking was also updated to where no vehicles with license plates exceeding B are allowed to park on streets between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. There is no parking blocking a sidewalk, across a sidewalk, in the parkway, blocking anyone’s driveway.

The handicap parking ordinance was standardized to include a $350 fine for violators.

They added an ordinance prohibiting turning left into a parking spot and backing into an angled spot is also prohibited.

Driveways have to be a hard surface and existing gravel driveways are allowed but the size of that driveway cannot be increased.

The ordinance was unanimously approved.