ARCHIVE

City council follows truck ordinance for now

May consider changes

Staff reporter

Opening the door to a larger problem was not something the majority of Marion City Council wanted to do Monday evening. So the topic was tabled until next meeting.

The council, two short with the absence of mayor Mary Olson and councilman Gene Winkler, discussed a request from resident Kevin Steele regarding the parking of his semi and trailer at his residence on the west edge of town.

City attorney Dan Baldwin said he had received the request from Steele two weeks ago. He explained that the current city ordinance does not allow the parking of semis and trailers in residential areas.

Baldwin said he talked with the Marion Police Department and was told that they were not interested in it because "if the door was opened for one individual, it will be opened for others."

Vice mayor Stacey Collett agreed.

"If we allow one person then we'll have to allow others," he said.

Steele said he currently was parking at a commercial lot on Grant Street but wouldn't be able to park there this winter because there isn't electricity. (Diesel engines require electricity so heaters can be used to keep the plugs operable.) He and his wife recently purchased a property on the west end of town with about two acres and near K-296/Main Street.

Councilman Bill Holdeman said allowing Steele to park his rig at home was no different than allowing campers and recreational vehicles to park at the VFW campground less than a block away.

Steele agreed and said that he knows of residents who are allowed to park camping vehicles on their property which, in his opinion, isn't that much different.

"A guy behind me was able to erect a building without a residence on his property," Steele said. That property is zoned commercial.

Holdeman then made a motion to allow Steele to park at his residence. The motion died for a lack of a second to the motion.

"We're killing these truck drivers, one by one," Holdeman said.

He then asked planning commission chairman Roger Schwab for his opinion.

Schwab said a conditional use permit was issued to the VFW campground and parking is allowed for passenger vehicles but not trucks.

"We don't have a place for these guys to park. There are 15 guys in this community who bring money back to this community," he said.

Marion Police Chief Josh Whitwell asked if the trailer could be empty when parked in the residential district. If the trailer is loaded, Steele would have to park it somewhere else.

Steele responded that he comes home loaded about once a month. He commented that concrete truck drivers can park their trucks at their homes.

"We're treating these truck drivers like trash," Holdeman said.

"There's a policy in effect," councilman Jerry Kline said. "What are we going do for other requests?"

Holdeman said the five-member council has not set policy and perhaps it was time it did.

"These policies were set by a three-man commission," he said.

Baldwin informed the council that the reason the ordinance was passed at that time was because there was an issue with a truck driver at that time. He said he could draft changes to the ordinance but needed direction.

Public works director Harvey Sanders said the council needed to be careful regarding the wear and tear of city streets with loaded semis.

Baldwin suggested one member of the council attend a Tuesday morning staff meeting where the issues could be discussed.

"We need to do this right instead of reacting to a situation," Baldwin said.

With that, the council decided to table any decision until the next council meeting.

Quantcast