Recreational meetings

On 27 October, a public meeting was held at Jaco Community Center concerning recreational and commercial vehicles in residential areas. The meeting was well-attended by 50-60 people. City engineer Harris Hamid did the intro and directed the meeting, fielding questions and comments about the proposed amended ordinance. The new ordinance would limit commercial vehicles in residential areas and impose requirements for those that are permitted, such as a paved parking surface. City planner Rick Buckeye gave a presentation explaining the ordinance, using a slide show. A number of city staff were in attendance, as well as Commissioner Jed Shank.

A business owner was upset about any talk of strict signage standards for vehicles, since it would affect his customers. A resident was concerned about offensive content on signage, more than the size standard proposed. A resident from North Andrews cited Constitutional property rights which render the ordinance a moot subject (this received raucous applause). Another resident opined that the proposed vehicle capacity was too low, especially when vehicles are used both for commercial and personal activities.

Also up for discussion was a new ordinance to cover newsracks. City staff is proposing eventually replacing individual vending boxes with modular racks that keep all publications in a single unit.