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Miami Lakes board refines commercial-vehicle rules, requires stronger vehicle-cover standards
Summary
The board recommended approval of a revised ordinance that clarifies the definition of commercial vehicles and allows covered commercial vehicles to be parked on private property in residential areas, with a new requirement to prohibit simple tarps and require purpose-built covers.
The Town of Miami Lakes Planning & Zoning Board voted to recommend approval of a revised ordinance clarifying the town’s rules on commercial vehicles, strengthening standards for acceptable coverings and explicitly exempting certain vehicles such as registered golf carts.
Planning staff told the board the update aims to make enforcement clearer. “This makes it a little bit easier for code compliance folks, to be able to identify this vehicle and cite them accordingly,” a staff representative said while explaining the ordinance’s new, uniform definition of commercial vehicles and the list of exemptions.
Under the revised language, vehicles that display business lettering or are visibly designed to carry commercial cargo or equipment are treated as commercial vehicles for enforcement purposes when parked in residential districts. The proposed ordinance also allows owners to keep such vehicles on private property if the vehicle is covered; the board requested clearer language defining covers and agreed to prohibit low-cost tarps as an acceptable cover.
Board members discussed enforcement practicality, on-street parking in commercial corridors and the aesthetics of different cover types. The board instructed staff to strengthen the cover language so that only covers “designed specifically for vehicles” and in good condition would satisfy the rule; a blue Home Depot tarp was singled out as inappropriate.
A motion to recommend approval of the revised ordinance, with the stronger cover-definition condition, passed on a roll call vote. The board’s recommendation will be forwarded to the town council for final action.
