Two Little Rock city directors want to prevent residents from storing inoperable vehicles in their yards, but they differ on how far a measure to do so should go.
An ordinance that Ward 1 City Director Erma Hendrix asked for would prohibit the storage of an automobile on one's property where it can be seen by neighbors. A separate proposed ordinance brought forth by Ward 3's Kathy Webb would also prohibit the storage of boats and would require a fence to block the vehicle from being seen if the owner is working on it.
Both proposed ordinances note that "unnecessary eyesores" in residential areas harm property values and can lead to an increase in crime or neglect.
The problem is spread throughout the city. Hendrix said she wanted to address the problem south of Interstate 630, and Webb mentioned a property where many vehicles have been stored in the front and side yards.
"It's terrible," Hendrix said. "It's ridiculous, and I think we need to have a change."
Doris Wright of Ward 6 said her district also has problem areas.
"I've got boats and horse trailers, and all kinds of stuff," Wright said. "The neighbors are furious, but there's nothing we can do."
City Attorney Tom Carpenter said he tried to reconcile both ordinance proposals into one, but Hendrix believes there should only be an ordinance dealing with inoperable automobiles.
"Two members of the board wanted ordinances dealing with the same thing at virtually the same time," Carpenter said.
But if both proposed ordinances are approved, then the severability clause in both would keep the fence requirement in Webb's ordinance from being enforced if it were to be challenged in court, Carpenter said.
Both ordinance proposals exclude scooters and personal mobility devices.
Both would set the same scale for penalties: a $100 to $500 fine per vehicle for the first offense, a fine of $250 to $1,000 per vehicle for subsequent offenses within a three-year period, and a daily fine of $500 for each illegal vehicle not removed from the property within three days of conviction.
Hendrix said at a meeting Tuesday that she didn't understand why other board members, who have been on the board for more than 20 years, hadn't pursued such an ordinance previously.
"If you see something, say something," she said.
Webb mentioned a property where the owner has been in and out of court for the past decade because of the boats, trailers and ATVs in his front and side yards. She said people in the neighborhood have said they couldn't sell their houses because of the eyesore.
"The neighbors complain incessantly about this yard," Webb said. "I hope we can start a conversation around this and get some relief."
Both ordinance proposals are on the agenda for this Tuesday's 6 p.m. board meeting.