The Burns Harbor
Town Council considered amendments to two ordinances at its meeting last
night, one for limiting street parking on certain roads.
The Council is in
the process of amending the traffic ordinance that covers the parking ban
during snowfall of more than two inches, and as part of that the Council
also plans to address obstructions in the road that could impede the travel
of emergency vehicles.
Council President
Ray Poparad said, “As long as we’re redoing that parking ordinance, I’d like
to motion that this parking ordinance for no street parking include all of
the older streets that don’t have curbs and sidewalks.” He noted that some
of the older roads are not wide enough to accommodate both parked cars and a
passing firetruck or ambulance. “I know it’s not a problem yet, but I’m just
trying to cut it off before it becomes a problem.”
Fire Chief Bill
Arney interjected saying that there was a recent incident where an ambulance
couldn’t get through because one resident had too many cars parked on one of
the narrower streets. Arney noted that developmental standards have changed,
so no new roads will be made too narrow or without curbs. As for the older
roads, he said he thinks going by width is the key to covering all the roads
where street parking would be an issue.
Poparad said he
thinks “No parking on streets without concrete curbs” would be the clearest
formula, as it includes all the roads in question. Town Attorney Clay Patton
will amend the language of the ordinance and bring it to the next meeting
for first reading.
The second
amendment the Council considered was a proposal to change some of the
wording in the zoning ordinance regarding permits for location improvements
and building. Building Commissioner Randall Lopez noted that there are two
forms for similar permits, and that has caused confusion. “Some people were
calling to ask ‘which form do I fill out to put a fence up or do a room
addition?’’
The Council
approved the amendments on first reading and voted to suspend the rules and
perform a second reading the same night. The amendment was approved
unanimously, and the permits will be worded more clearly and available on
the Town website in time for the building season.
Fire Department
Arney reported the
firefighters are staying busy after a month filled with a lot of unexpected
truck repairs. He said at one point, every truck was down, but everything
has been fixed now. The Department responded to 31 calls and spent a total
of 20 hours and 45 minutes on scene in March. Forty firefighters also did a
total of 79 hours of training exercises on three training nights.
Arney also took a
moment to thank the Street Department. “I called Pat about some trees on
South Boo Road, and he and Rick have been out cutting low hanging and dead
trees making it easier for school buses and fire trucks to get through there
and making it safer for the general public too.”