Borough Council has put the brakes on a request to amend an ordinance designed to clear away junk cars from properties throughout Mt. Holly Springs.
Council last winter adopted an ordinance requiring all vehicles parked on lots within sight of the right-of-way to have updated insurance, registration and state inspection sticker.
The ordinance was in response to complaints council received from residents upset over seeing abandoned and rusted-out "eyesores" in their neighborhoods, council President James J. Collins II said this week.
This spring, the borough mailed out about 30 warning letters to local residents, he said, one letter for every vehicle reported to borough officials.
Each letter advised the resident to either bring the vehicle into compliance or park it in an enclosed structure out of view of the right-of-way.
In talking with borough police, Collins said, he learned that 20 to 25 of the vehicles have since been moved and are no longer a problem.
Leonard Guise received multiple letters for cars parked at his Chestnut Street property. In July, Guise asked council to consider amending the ordinance in regard to hobbyists working to restore old cars and residents who can't build garages in the flood plain.
The state does not require cars being restored to have registration, insurance and inspection, Guise said. He questioned why the borough is insisting on requiring that kind of documentation.
"We want some changes to make it easier for the hobbyists," Guise said.
While Guise is not the root cause of the ordinance, council cannot make an exception to a rule, Collins said.
"When you do an ordinance, it has to apply to everybody equally," he said.
As yet, no one has been cited under the nuisance vehicle ordinance, Collins said.
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