Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Property Maintenance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Planner warns junkyard definition could ensnare hobbyists; suggests moving vehicle-storage rules to property-maintenance law
Summary
Planner told the board that a junkyard definition that treats a lot with two or more unregistered vehicles for 60 days as a junkyard may have unintended consequences, and recommended moving vehicle-storage enforcement into property-maintenance regulations or raising thresholds/durations.
During a zoning work session, the planner highlighted a problematic clause in the junkyard definition that treats any lot with two or more motor vehicles stored outside without current license plates for 60 days as a junkyard. She said this wording could classify hobbyists' project cars or parts vehicles as junkyards and recommended reworking the language or handling the issue under the town's property-maintenance law instead.
The planner suggested alternatives such as raising the vehicle-count threshold, lengthening the time duration (e.g., 90–120 days), or addressing vehicle storage as a property-maintenance enforcement matter rather than a land-use/junkyard regulation. She said she would draft revised language and consider moving the provision to the property-maintenance chapter for clearer enforcement standards.
The planner also tied this concern to outdoor storage broadly (examples cited of containers stored at a site on Black Meadow Road) and recommended reviewing outdoor-storage standards via site-plan and accessory-use rules.
