O-1983-1352 - Laserfiche WebLink

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. . . . . Honorable Mayor and City Council Page 2 2/2/83 As a further aid to enforceability of the ordinance by the Police Department, the office of the City Attorney, noting that all truck terminals currently existing within the City of La Porte are located directly adjacent to existing truck routes, limited the location of all future truck terminals to areas directly adjacent to existing truck routes, or any truck routes that might be designated in the future. As a further aid to enforceability of the ordinance on the part of the La Porte Police Department, a clause was added restricting parking of certain defined vehicles (including trucks) on residential lots. After numerous public meetings, it was discovered that application of the new provision restricting parking of certain designated vehicles, including trucks, to non-residential areas, had an unequal, and in some cases, unfair impact upon many residents of the City of La Porte. Specific concerns were raised regarding application of the ordinance to utility trailers, boats, recreational vehicles, and vehicles incidental to the raising or cultivating of livestock or crops, those vehicles being particularly located in the Lomax area. Also, many current truck owners wi thin the City of La Porte voiced concern that the parking of their trucks on their property was not a matter properly regulated by a truck route ordinance. To alleviate these concerns, the ordinance was subsequently amended to exclude from its application, utility trailers, boats, recreational vehicles (house trailers), and ranch trailers. Further, one ton trucks were excluded from the applicability of the ordinance, and an attempt was made to write a special permitting section to allow the parking on residential property of any trucks (la-wheel trucks), provided that certain qualifications were met. The attempt to provide for a special permit to allow even l8-wheel trucks to park on certain residential properties, provided certain qualifications were met, was flawed, both from a legal and an enforcement stand point. The attempt had to be abandoned as being unworkable. It quickly became apparent that the ordinance had been watered down to the point that all the exceptions contained in the ordinance had become the rule. The most recent amendment to the proposed Truck Route Ordinance, represents a bac.k-to-basics approach. By getting away from the concept that residential parking of certain vehicles should be restricted, and moving to strictly regulate the travel of certain vehilces on non-truck routes, the ordinance becomes basic, and more easily enforceable.