Residents of Silver Bay came before the City Council at Reunion Hall on Monday evening over a Proposed City Code Amendment that has stirred some controversy among community members. Like most municipalities, Silver Bay has struggled with finding a balanced, equitable way to deal with the accumulation of stuff that some residents have on their property. The accumulation of unsheltered items can become a self perpetuating problem because most folks who live in Silver Bay don’t have a two car garage or do not have the ability to put up a storage shed on their property to accommodate things like snowmobiles, boats, campers, snow tires or other items that they need and use in their daily lives. Silver Bay was built back in the 1950s when snowmobiles were rare, boats were smaller and campers were called tents and could be folded up and placed on a shelf. “Unsheltered items” can, however, be unsightly and in some cases, can be hazardous.
About 85 to 100 area residents gathered for the public hearing with questions, concerns and suggestions for Council members.
Steve Van House was the first resident to speak and as a member of the Planning and Zoning Commission, acknowledged the fact that city leaders have struggled with enforcing the ordinances that are on the books that would address the unsheltered storage problem. In a small town, wants to go to their neighbor and tell them that the car sitting in the side yard is in violation of a city ordinance and they have to move it or they will be issued a ticket?
28 other attendees got up to state their concerns. The majority of them expressed concern about the vague wording in parts of the document or terminology that needed clarification. Some of that wording caused alarm among some residents who felt that the document might pit neighbor against neighbor. Another area of concern was a section of the document that outlined enforcement procedures. A couple of people expressed the opinion that the possibility of a substantial fine or possible jail time for non-compliant residents, was heavy handed. Many stated that they believe that ordinances already on the books are sufficient, if those ordinances are simply enforced. A number of attendees expressed concern for older residents who may not be able to physically comply with issues like overgrown lawns or who may not be able to afford the money it would require to bring their property into compliance.
Clearly, every property owner has a responsibility to their neighbors to maintain their property in such a way so that it doesn’t become an eyesore. The possibility of having an occasional city-wide cleanup day was proposed by a number of people at Monday night’s meeting. Residents coming together to help keep the community looking nice could be a step toward addressing the issue.
Council members assured the people attending the meeting that the Code Amendment document was only a draft proposal, a first run at addressing the issue of clutter around the city. Council members are working through a significant number of antiquated zoning ordinances in an effort to update regulations to better fit the current needs of the city and its residents. There is, of course, the unwelcome problem of nuisance properties that are littered with items like old mattresses, couches, washing machines and other discarded appliances that the Council will need to deal with. Such blight attracts rats and racoons and poses a health risk to surrounding property owners.
Mayor Wade LeBlank and other Council members expressed appreciation for the large number of residents who turned out for the meeting. The Council will take all comments and opinions into account as they consider fair and reasonable ways to address the problem of unsheltered items. Before any decisions are finalized, there will be another public meeting so that residents can learn about what the plan will be, moving forward.
The next Silver Bay Council meeting will be held on August 19th at 7:00, at City Hall.
