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Bluff council asks staff to redraft standalone Jake‑brake ordinance; parking restrictions deferred
Summary
At an Aug. 12 work session the Bluff Town Council directed staff to prepare a single-purpose ordinance banning Jake‑braking within town limits and to return with a draft for formal consideration; wider parking and idling restrictions were set aside for further study because they may require UDOT review and public hearings.
Bluff Town Council members discussed creating an ordinance to prohibit Jake‑braking and to designate no‑parking zones along U.S. 191 and other commercial corridors during their Aug. 12 work session, and asked staff to prepare a standalone Jake‑brake proposal for the council to consider at a future meeting.
Council members said truck noise and overnight idling have generated recurring complaints. Staff and councilors noted that adopting parking or broader idling restrictions is more complex because state and Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) regulations constrain what a local jurisdiction can do on state highways and that certain parking controls require a UDOT field review and a Traffic Engineering Order (TEO). Councilors discussed limiting the immediate work to Jake‑brake (compression‑release braking) noise because that appears to be simpler to implement with signage and enforcement by state or county law enforcement.
Council members raised equity and enforceability concerns. One member said past drafts targeted “uranium trucks” specifically and urged the council to make any ban apply to all commercial trucks rather than a class of vehicles. Members also discussed reasonable distance standards (for example, prohibiting Jake‑braking within a set distance of residences or businesses), exemptions for refrigerated (“reefer”) trucks that must run engines for food safety, and enforcement challenges when trucks stop briefly and then leave before an enforcement response.
Staff said UDOT can provide sign design and installation guidance but that the town would bear the costs of signs. Councilors recommended staff contact the UDOT traffic engineer for the area before preparing an ordinance and to rework the existing draft so Jake‑brake prohibitions stand alone rather than being embedded in a broader nuisance/noise ordinance.
Council direction (not a formal vote): staff was asked to redraft the item as a single‑purpose Jake‑brake ordinance, remove references to other noise provisions, and return the draft for council consideration at a future meeting. The council deferred further work on parking restrictions and idling rules pending additional review of UDOT authority and enforcement options.
Background: councilors reviewed examples from nearby municipalities (Moab and others) and discussed state law permitting certain local idling regulations if they meet statutory requirements such as warning periods and fine structures. Members also noted that designated rest areas are scarce in the region, which factors into truck parking behavior.
