The Laurel City Council made the first step to address the parking of unauthorized vehicles in a residential area of town.

The City Council — upon the recommendation of the City’s Planning Commission — unanimously approved the first reading of a ordinance amending Ordinance No. 1451-2004 which established the Tri-Park Overlay District and would amend Section 506.03.13 pertaining to parking regularities of the zoning Ordinance No. 1085-1985 with amendments and the Laurel Code of Ordinances.

Prior to the vote, Susan Vincent appeared before the council Tuesday and asked for their support of the proposed ordinance.

“People have been bringing their work vehicles home,” Vincent said adding that residents are concerned about their neighborhoods and streets. “We have had meetings on this issue and asking that you support the changes being proposed.”

Susan Norman, who is the city’s planning and zoning coordinator, said the ordinance addresses commercial vehicles being parking in residential areas.

Norman said that the Planning Commission had a meeting on this matter, which attracted a large number of concerned people. She said the commission agreed to amend the order and submit the changes to the council for consideration.

Tuesday was the first reading of the proposed ordinance.

According to the current ordinance, the zoning ordinance does not specifically regulate the parking of advertised, commercial vehicles parked on city streets in the described boundaries of the Tri-Park Overlay District.

Therefore, the Planning Commission is recommending changes that would “now prohibit the parking of advertised, commercial vehicles parked on city streets in the described boundaries of the Tri-Park Overlay District during the weekdays hours from 5 p.m. to 5 a.m. and on the weekends. This includes logging trucks, agricultural product trucks, and any other obviously commercial vehicle whether or not a company name appears on the vehicle. These type of commercial vehicles shall be parked in commercial zones or parked in residential driveways, carports or garages. No vehicle shall be parked on the lawn, the yard, or the sidewalk. Parking of emergency or ‘on-call’ vehicles on the city streets may be considered and allowed on a case to case basis provided there is no possible way the vehicle can be parked off-street, but this allowance is not taken to allow such parking when the vehicle is not ‘on-call’ nor does it allow parking that causes a traffic obstruction.”

The city council unanimously approved the first reading of the proposed ordinance.

According to city policy, an ordinance has to have a first and second reading before it can be enacted.

Also Tuesday, the council conducted its second reading of an ordinance amending and correcting Section 22-45 from Ordinance No. 1545-2009 pertaining to garbage collection fees outlined in the Laurel Code of Ordinances in Chapter 22 Solid Waste, Article IV; Garbage Collection Fee.

City attorney David Ratcliff said the order is designed to go back and clean the previous order up.

In other business, the council granted an appeals hearing to Gwendolyn Wilson on behalf of Naomi Wilson in regard to denial of a zoning change from Residential 1 to Commercial 2 on property known as 1115 N. 9th Avenue.

Officials said the planning commission did not approve the zoning change for the property, which is in Ward Two, because “it would be considered spot zoning.”