The Mt. Airy Town Council removed a controversial proposed “no through truck” ordinance from its agenda Monday night and, instead, focused on amending an existing abandoned vehicle ordinance.
The “no through truck” ordinance had been introduced for a first reading in February after Mayor Ray McAllister and Police Chief Jamie Bowden conducted a drive through several town subdivisions. McAllister explained that the town had received numerous complaints about large trucks, especially 18-wheelers, parking on town right-of-ways where they had no proper place to park.
However, when the ordinance came up for discussion at Monday’s meeting, McAllister requested that it be struck from the agenda. The council agreed and proceeded to the next item on the agenda.
That item was an amendment to the town’s existing abandoned vehicle ordinance. McAllister presented the proposed changes to the ordinance, which had been included in the council members’ meeting packets. With no further discussion, he submitted the amended ordinance for the first reading, and the council approved it.
Click here to read the amended abandoned vehicle ordinance.
The amended ordinance includes a more detailed definition of an abandoned vehicle, which now includes:
- A vehicle left unattended for more than four hours
- A vehicle that is inoperable, dismantled, wrecked, or unregistered and left unattended on public property
- A vehicle left on private property without the owner’s consent for more than 10 days
- Any commercial truck with a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) exceeding 26,000 pounds, or one primarily used for business purposes, that is parked on a public right-of-way for more than one hour, except when the vehicle is actively engaged in loading, unloading, or providing service
The second reading of the amended abandoned vehicle ordinance is scheduled for the town’s next council meeting on May 5.
