By Ashley M. Casey
Staff Writer
After months of tinkering with a proposed parking ordinance for trailers and RVs in residential areas, the Clay Town Board and a blue-ribbon panel of residents have come to an agreement on the measure’s language. The public hearing on the issue ended Oct. 1
“This is wonderful to see government in action and interaction,” Supervisor Damian Ulatowski said. “I think it was a learning opportunity for us as well as you.”
Following the Sept. 17 town board meeting, Councilor Ryan Pleskach led the blue-ribbon commission in making revisions to the proposed ordinance to address three concerns raised by residents: the definition of living quarters, the possibility of allowing more than one RV to be parked on a property temporarily and clarification of where a vehicle can be parked on a corner lot.
As for the definition of living quarters, Pleskach said several panel members proposed possible definitions, including one definition from the Department of Environmental Conservation. Pleskach said he felt none of the definitions they came up with fit the town code and the intent of the parking ordinance, so the commission recommended on leaving that section of the proposal as-is.
“We will allow code enforcement and common sense to determine what living quarters is for the purpose of this code,” Pleskach said.
Pleskach said the commission also recommended leaving in the portion of the ordinance that prohibits parking multiple campers on one property.
“It was unanimously determined that these instances are rare, and we can’t legislate every specific instance into the code,” Pleskach said.
For corner lots, the commission defined the front yard as “the portion of the lot located between any roads and the front building line.” Deputy Supervisor Joseph Bick suggested determining the front yard based on the street address.
Resident Ron Pennock pointed out that the mailing address does not always match the front of the house. In that case, Pennock said, if a person parks their RV based on that definition of the front yard, they may be defeating the purpose of the law’s intent.
“Everybody knows the front of the house is where your front door is. It’s pretty obvious,” Pennock said. “Everybody has an obvious front yard. Leave it up to codes to do it.”
Resident Nancy Kinnetz suggested the town post frequently asked questions about the RV law on the town’s website, and Ulatowski said he would look into it.