Proposed residential parking rule dead in Weirton

WEIRTON - It's officially back to the drawing board on an ordinance that was slated to establish new regulations on the parking of vehicles on residential property in Weirton.

During Monday's meeting of Weirton Council, members - for the second month in a row - opted not to remove the potential second reading of Ordinance 2287 from the table.

Mayor Dean Harris explained, under parliamentary procedure, if no action was taken on the ordinance for the second month in a row, the measure would be dead and taken off of council's agenda.

"If we take no action tonight, it would automatically be removed from the table," Harris said.

The ordinance passed its first reading in September by a 6-0 vote, but the second reading was tabled in October after officials received feedback from residents concerned about much of the language used in the proposed ordinance.

Had the ordinance moved forward, language would have been included in city code stating "No person shall park, store, or place any motor vehicle, boat, recreational vehicle (RV), camper, trailer, utility trailer, commercial vehicle, equipment, machinery, storage container, or any other personal property on any surface other than a city-approved parking surface. Said prohibition applies but is not limited to unimproved areas of grass, dirt, gravel, or like materials, in any front, side, or rear yard or any exterior portion of a premises, including unimproved or 'paper' alleyways."

Currently, motor vehicles are prohibited from being parked within grassy or unimproved areas of the front and side yards of a residential property. That ordinance was adopted in 2017.

Following response from citizens, as well as discussion during a work session held by council in late September, Councilmembers Jesse Keeder, Rick Stead, and Chris Jonczak were assigned to form a subcommittee to review the existing city code and potential ways of making future adjustments.

"They'll be working on some new language for a new ordinance to address it," Harris said.

Stead said he and the other committee members will work diligently to craft an ordinance to address concerns while not harming residents.

"I want to assure people we're actively working to craft the best product we can to make sure it affects people in a positive way," Stead said. "We'll get the best product out here."

(Howell can be contacted at chowell@weirtondailytimes.com)