For-sale vehicles prohibited in Wasilla

WASILLA -- The Wasilla City Council passed a city ordinance Monday that will regulate the parking and selling of vehicles within city limits. Ordinance Serial No. 03-46 section 10.20.020 prohibits a person to park a vehicle upon a street, roadway, right-of-way, city parking lot or other public property for the purpose of displaying the vehicle for sale. Such a vehicle would be considered parked for sale if it remains stationary for more than 16 hours, and there is one or more signs communicating that the vehicle is for sale.

Owner of Check It Out Auto Sales Mike Verbos spoke about the ordinance during the public comment section of Monday's meeting, saying he was worried that a 16-hour time limit may not be enough to keep people from parking their vehicle each day in order to sell it. While happy that the council was looking into the manner, Verbos said a six- to eight-hour period might be more effective.

"The one thing that concerns me is the timeframe a vehicle can sit," Verbos said. "I don't think 16 hours is stringent enough for people."

City engineer Archie Giddings responded to Verbos' concern, saying that the city based the time limit on the amount of time someone may be spending at his or her place of work. If that person is using their vehicle as their main source of transportation and trying to sell it while using it, they should not be punished for parking their vehicle while at work, said Giddings.

"We didn't think that was fair," Giddings said. "Those type of people are not parking to sell."

The ordinance then passed unanimously.

While the ordinance allows a for-sale vehicle to sit in an undesignated roadway for 16 hours, all vehicles must adhere to the posted parking signs throughout the city, including those that prohibit or limit parking. The public works director is authorized to designate such places to prevent hazardous conditions or traffic congestion.

Wasilla Police Department is responsible for keeping track of for-sale vehicles parked longer than 16 hours, and can issue a $50 citation for the violation, either by delivering it to the operator of the vehicle, if present, or by affixing it to the vehicle if unattended. While the ordinance reads that the owner of the vehicle is presumed responsible for the vehicle, it also reads that the citation can be rebutted if the owner shows satisfactory evidence that he or she was not responsible for the violation, as in instances where the registered owner no longer owns the vehicle and the title has yet to be changed.