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Ank 1 1-3= TO: Mayor and City Council FROM: Jim Ericson, Planning Associate RE: Commercial Vehicles in Mounds View -- A Historical Overview DATE: May 24, 1999 Introduction: Recently, I received a call from an unhappy resident of Mounds View who was sent a letter regarding a commercial vehicle (semi) parked at his residence on Hillview Road. In responds to his threats of a class-action lawsuit, I did some research concerning commercial vehicles in the City and thought to forward to you the results of this research. Background The City Code has always stated that Commercial vehicles (e.g., those with a weight classification as determined by Minnesota Statues) are not allowed to be parked on public, or private property for more than two hours continuously in the City's residential districts. In 1977, after numerous complaints frorn truck owners, public hearings were held regarding the appropriateness of this code restriction. In 1981, the Council adopted Ordinance 303 (last page of this packet) which repealed the section of code that prohibited trucks and commercial vehicles from residential districts. The community as a whole, however, was not in favor of this ordinance and a petition was circulated that gathered 1,215 signatures in an effort to put the ordinance to a vote of the residents by referendum. The special election was held on August 18, 1981, at which time the ordinance was voted down by more than a two -to -one margin. Current Practice: The policy of the City with regard to Code Enforcement has been to respond to violations on a complaint basis. This past year, staff has begun to enforce the commercial vehicle Code requirement more proactively, as the number of complaints regarding commercial vehicles and trucks has increased, and also in response to issues of fairness to those property owners singled -out for their own commercial vehicles. One such property owner sent a letter on Clifton Drive approached the Council late in 1998 and asked for a special use permit or allowance to continue parking his commercial vehicle at home. The Council denied his request, citing Community's desire to not see trucks and commercial vehicles in their residential districts. So just in case you begin to get calls regarding commercial vehicles, this will provide you with a bit more background into the situation. Please call me if you have any thoughts regarding this issue.