Editorials

Commentary: Time to regulate yard sales

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By Gary P. Custer

Tuesday, November 29, -0001

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Currently, the only references to the issue in the zoning code deal with a general prohibition of retail activities in residential districts and restrictions on yard sale signs, an implication that certain kinds of yard sales are legal.

No one seems to be trying to eliminate traditional yard sales, just to eliminate retail operations which adversely affect the quality of life in neighborhoods.

The problem is how to eliminate the perpetual retail activity, masquerading as yard sales, carried on by a few people that generate excessive traffic, litter and visual pollution in residential neighborhoods.

Most city council members agree that the number and duration of yard sales held on a residential property should be limited.

Unfortunately, there seems to be disagreement on the details.

Should permits be required? Should there be a permit fee? Should the permits have to be picked up at City Hall? How many sales can be held a year? How long can the sales run?

The first problem is to differentiate yard sales from retail activity. The key is to prohibit activities that are not necessary to allow the average resident to hold a yard sale which will have a minimal effect on his neighbors.

Any ordinance should be designed to do the following.

Any sale of new goods should be prohibited outright. Although probably relatively rare, there are instances where people have brought in new goods, rugs, fireworks and stuffed animals for example, and set up shop on someone's front lawn for a few days.

(We once refused an ad for a yard sale after we found that the only things being sold were new rugs brought in by someone's son from North Carolina.)

Anything sold at a yard sale should belong to the residents of the property. Although it might be more profitable for several people to hold a large joint sale, the adverse effect on the neighborhood will probably be greater because of the concentration of items for sale.

Any advertising sign except the currently permitted one, a 2- by 3-foot sign on the sale property, should be prohibited — no signs on the parkway, no signs on a busy nearby street.

Commercial advertising, such as newspaper ads, should be prohibited.

The number of sales should be limited. One or two a year should be the maximum since almost all yard sales are concentrated in the two or three warmest months, not spread over a 12-month period.

The duration should be one day, not the proposed four or five days currently proposed. This would ensure that the used merchandise would not be left outside in view between sale days.

There must be enforcement of the ordinance, whatever its form, after passage.

A major area of disagreement is the issue of permits. We see no way of enforcing the ordinance without requiring some form of permit. Without them enforcement is virtually impossible.

According to Councilman Jack Minore (7th Ward), one idea is to require permits after a complaint. Only if there is a complaint about a perpetual yard sale being held on a property would the owner have to get permits for future yard sales. The assumption is that most people would abide by the ordinance. Those who did not would be required to go through the trouble of getting a permit.

At the other extreme, it has been proposed that anyone who wants to hold a sale would have to go to City Hall, pay a $10 fee for each permit and prominently display it at the sale.

As a practical matter, the solution is probably somewhere in between.

It seems exceptionally burdensome to require anyone who wants to hold a yard sale to stand in line at City Hall to get a permit. Many people who would want to hold a legal sale are unable, because of work schedules, physical disabilities or transportation problems, to get to City Hall to pick up a permit during the day. Further, a new city bureaucracy would probably have to be set up just to handle the in-person requests.

Yet, there must be records to ensure enforcement. Probably the best alternative is to require people who want to hold a yard sale to simply notify the city in writing that they plan to hold a yard sale on a certain date and agree to follow the ordinance requirements. One file clerk working part time during the summer months, a couple of file cabinets and some file folders could probably maintain all of the necessary records.

If there is a complaint, the city has documentation about the authorized sales on a property without having to fund another large bureaucracy or unnecessarily inconvenience city residents.

We think an ordinance with these elements would go a long way to solving the problems created by commercial activities in residential neighborhoods without unduly inconveniencing those who want to pick up a few dollars by occasionally holding a yard sale to get rid of unwanted items.

GPC

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