Council relaxes ban on clunkers

Ogdensburg to allow one unlicensed vehicle on property if covered

By MAX R. MITCHELL (TIMES STAFF WRITER)

OGDENSBURG — Storing an unlicensed car on your property no longer will be a problem for city residents, but some city officials are worried they won't be able to keep junk cars off of people's lawns.

The City Council voted 5-2 on Monday to replace a three-year-old ban on storing unlicensed cars with a zoning ordinance allowing people to store one unlicensed vehicle on their property as long as it is covered.

Mayor William D. Nelson and Councilor Nicholas J. Vaugh voted against the changes.

"I've objected to it on the grounds that I don't have a way of knowing what's under the tarp," City Manager Arthur J. Sciorra said. "This could end up an opportunity to put a tarp over junk."

According to Code Enforcement Officer Gregg A. Mallette, his department deals with unlicensed vehicles on a weekly basis. With the changes, inspectors will start making more determinations about what is allowable and what is considered junk.

"It's really a discretionary call on the inspectors' part, but we're in the city every day and we try to keep an eye on this property maintenance issue," he said. "There are certain properties we know that are always going to be problematic."

While the new law may create a problem for enforcement, according to Councilor Michael D. Morley, the old law was unfair to the people of Ogdensburg.

"A lot of people wanted this," he said. "If your son goes off to college and he can't take his car, are you going to keep it registered all that time, or sell it because you can't use it the first year? There are the little things in life that laws kind of screw up when you have them one way."

He said the new law is strict enough to be enforceable and will not lead the city to become a junkyard.

"A lot of people cover up their cars now and it's a registered car," he said. "It's no different than any other law."

Mr. Vaugh said that along with enforcement concerns, he is afraid the changes will put the city back several years in its efforts to improve its image.

"We constantly see the push to clean up the city," he said. "This harms those efforts to clean and beautify the city for the current and future residents and visitors."

For Mr. Mallette, concerns about junk cars in the city are nothing new.

"It's an ordinance we've always dealt with. It's a constant thing to try to keep them down to a minimum," he said.

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