Council approves garage/yard sale ordinance
By Amanda Estes
Staff Writer
     The Scarborough Town Council unanimously approved a new ordinance that would require residents to obtain a permit from the Town Clerk before conducting a garage/yard sale of more than three items of personal property.
    At Wednesday’s council meeting, Town Manager Ron Owens said the intent of the ordinance is to create a “registration process” that will inform the town of where the sales are taking place. By requiring residents to acquire permits, the town will have some authority in curtailing ongoing sales that can cause traffic issues in residential neighborhoods.
     Last year, several residents went to the Ordinance Committee with complaints about an ongoing yard sale on Route 114. Due to the town’s inability to place restrictions on the sale, the Ordinance Committee asked Owens to research the effectiveness of garage/yard sale ordinances in other towns.
     Prior to passing the ordinance, which will mirror South Portland’s policy, councilors approved two amendments to the ways the permits can be issued.          The permits will be issued at the cost of $5.00 per sale and will be valid no more than three consecutive days. The Town Clerk will issue no more than two permits for a sale at any given residence within a consecutive six month period.     The ordinance had been drafted to state at any given lot, but Councilor Patrick O’Reilly proposed it be amended to “residence” to avoid confusion in situations where there is more than one residence on the same lot, such as a duplex.
    Councilor Sylvia Most proposed an amendment to include a rain date with the permit in the case of inclement weather. If a resident needed to utilize the rain date, he or she would only need to place a call to the clerk’s office to inform the town of the change.
     When it comes to enforcing the permit policy, the council determined that an individual’s first violation of the ordinance would constitute a warning. Subsequent violations would incur fines in line with the town’s license, permit, and application fee ordinances. Owens said he expects most violations to be out of ignorance of the new ordinance.
    He said the town is not seeking to extract revenues from residents, but rather it is utilizing an opportunity to put an end to disruptive sales.