Petition seeks changes to Lovell trailer ordinance

An anticipated turnout of citizens seeking a change in the Town of Lovell’s trailer ordinance did not happen during the town council’s January 13 meeting, but the main proponent of amending the ordinance, Dylan Banks, did attend and presented a petition.

Banks first came before the council in October, asking the council to modify the ordinance that prohibits residents from parking trailers on town streets more than a few days from Labor Day through Memorial Day and restricts trailers in general, calling the ordinance a financial burden for those who don’t have access to land on which to park a trailer.

Since then, Banks gathered names on a petition urging the council to amend the portion of the town code restricting trailer parking. He presented to the council last week with an amendment that allows “small, non-commercial, personal-use trailers” on public streets abutting the owner’s residential dwelling including addresses within a marked school zone under certain stipulations. Not all of the 76 names on the petition are Lovell residents, though most are.

The town staff put out extra chairs for the January 13 meeting, but only Banks attended to urge the council to act. Addressing the council, Banks stated, “I’ve put together a petition in the hopes of demonstrating to you that there are a significant number of residents that live here and even some businesses in Lovell that are affected and feel the same way that I do about the current trailer parking restrictions. Over the past few weeks, I’ve collected 76 signatures. While this number may seem modest, it does represent a diverse group of people from different neighborhoods in the town. On behalf of the signers of this petition, I’m here to respectfully ask the council to consider a reasonable amendment to the current trailer parking ordinance.”

Banks said he owns a small, non-commercial trailer that he uses solely for personal storage, adding that the trailer is not used for business, and no one lives in it.

“Because my property is very small, I don’t have enough room on my own land to park my trailer safely or legally,” he continued. “As a result of the current ordinance, it leaves me with no realistic option other than paying for significant off-site storage fees, which I mentioned in the last meeting. It creates an unintended fairness issue for residents like me with smaller properties. Homeowners with larger lots are able to store their trailers on their own land, and those of us like me with limited space are effectively prohibited.

“The ordinance, as currently written, treats all the trailers the same, regardless of the size or the length, placing small storage trailers in the same category as all the other trailers and recreational vehicles.

“We fully support the goal of protecting children, which is my understanding why it was put into place, and maintaining safety in the school zones. But in the rest of the town, our request is not to weaken those protections but to allow a narrow but common-sense exception that still prioritizes that safety.”

He also asked the council to reconsider the portion of town code that makes it unlawful for residents to park a trailer in town from September through May.

“It’s a seasonal restriction,” Banks said. “It creates an unnecessary hardship on us, and safety concerns don’t really change with the seasons. Those concerns can be addressed through a consistent rule, such as size limits, proper placement and visibility requirements and still allow us to be able to use our on-street parking. Some of us are limited to that.

“As a compromise, we would fully support reasonable conditions such as the size limits I mentioned earlier, maybe distance requirements, maybe even appearance standards, if you guys wanted to put those in there, or a simple permit registration process, just something along those lines. We also support maintaining the existing prohibition on living in trailers and preserving the town’s authority to require us to move those, if necessary, for snow removal, sweeping or whatever it may be. … We’re not asking for any special treatment, but only a limited and a reasonable exception.”

Town administrator Jed Nebel said he has worked with the police department on some possible revisions to the ordinance and said the council will discuss the matter during a work meeting.

First meeting business

With councilwoman Carol Miller chairing the meeting in the absence of Mayor Tom Newman, who was attending his son’s high school basketball game in Cody, the evening began with the annual disclosure of financial interest for the mayor, council and town officials in local banks. The council also voted to designate the Bank of Lovell, Big Horn Federal, First Bank of Wyoming and WYOSTAR as official depositories of the Town of Lovell and the Lovell Chronicle as the official newspaper.

Under new business, Nebel told the council that there is a need for a public records request policy and fee schedule to cover attorney fees and digital media. That, along with some other fees, would be discussed at a work meeting, he said.

Scooter ordinances

Nebel presented, and the town voted to approve on first reading, eight ordinances governing electric scooters and bicycles including definitions, general regulations, reckless and careless riding, lights and reflectors, riding behavior, riding on sidewalks, riding on the roadway and violation penalties. The ordinances are very rough drafts, Nebel said, and are available at town hall for citizens to read.

In other action January 13:

• The council voted to approve a catering permit for Aud’s Four Corners at the community center for the Lovell Rodeo Club auction on January 31.

• Nebel presented the annual open burning request to be sent to the Wyoming DEQ. Proposed dates are March 1 through May 31 and September 1 through November 30.

• After receiving a letter stating that town attorney Alex Rolin is taking an out-of-town job with another law firm, the council elected to stay with the firm Copenhaver, Kitchen and Kolpitcke due to the town’s long relationship with the law firm.