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Resident urges council to restore ban on shipping containers in residential areas
Summary
At a Sept. 12 special meeting, resident Ronnie McLaughlin urged the City Council of Bruce Ol Eddy to reverse a recent vote that removed an ordinance restricting large shipping containers in residential neighborhoods, saying the containers can be oversized, pose contamination and nuisance risks and invite graffiti or offensive signage.
Ronnie McLaughlin told the City Council of Bruce Ol Eddy on Sept. 12 that he is asking the council to restore an ordinance that previously restricted the use of cargo and storage containers in residential areas. McLaughlin, who spoke during the meeting’s public-comment period, said the city’s prior vote to remove that restriction left neighbors without a legal remedy for several concerns he described.
"If there's no ordinance, it's. It's freebie, no matter what it says," McLaughlin said, arguing residents lose protection when the city removes rules that limit container placement and appearance. He described containers commonly marketed for sale at lengths of 40 to 53 feet and heights up to 13 feet, 6 inches and said those dimensions can overwhelm smaller suburban lots.
McLaughlin raised a range of specific concerns: large containers placed near property lines can block backyard sunlight and views; they can harm gardens or fruit trees by shading them; they were designed for industrial shipping and, he said, may have previously carried contaminants; they can attract graffiti or display offensive language; and they can create neighborhood disputes if left unregulated. He cited a recent incident on Eagle Drive where an offensive flag was displayed and said there was no ordinance that allowed the city to remove it.
McLaughlin also described a claim about council composition, saying "three out of six owns cargo containers," and said a prior council vote to remove the ordinance had "taken the citizen's voice out." Those statements were made as part of his public comment and presented as his observations; the council did not take an action in open session to restore or replace the ordinance during this meeting.
The council’s rules for public comment were reiterated at the start of the meeting: speakers must sign up before the meeting and are limited to five minutes. McLaughlin told the council he had additional points and said he would bring them up at a subsequent meeting.
Council members did not respond with a formal action on the storage-container issue during the Sept. 12 open session. The meeting moved into executive session for personnel and property matters and returned to the public meeting later to approve unrelated items.
The public-comment record and the meeting minutes will reflect McLaughlin’s remarks; no ordinance change or council directive on shipping containers was recorded at the conclusion of the open meeting segment.
