Rolesville may police yard sales

Rolesville town board members were still hesitant to adopt an ordinance restricting yard sales and tabled the issue Tuesday night.

The topic first came up during the Nov. 25 joint public hearing with members of the town's planning board.

While commissioners expressed concern about the draft ordinance, planning board members wholeheartedly approved it.

Comments during the public hearing were strong.

The ordinance would require a $1 permit for each yard sale and would prohibit consignment sales. Just two off-site directional signs would be permitted for each yard sale and they would have to be removed by the end of the day of the sale.

Residents would be limited to holding four yard sales per year and those sales could not run longer than one day. Yard and garage sales would be held between the hours of 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. only but prohibited on vacant lots or on property not owned by the person holding the sale.

Violations of any part of the ordinance would result in a $50 fine.

"I am a yard saler. This choked me," Commissioner Pat Wharton said as she struggled for words during the town's joint public hearing. "This is so restrictive. I coulda had a heart attack here."

In contrast, planning board member Jacky Wilson had pronounced the draft ordinance "excellent."

The ordinance was drafted because the town has a few residents who continue to hold yard sales week after week, creating what town board members call a "flea market" atmosphere. In addition, the town has been having problems with yard sale signs placed in prohibited areas.

Wharton did not approve of the ordinance. She reiterated her feelings during the Dec. 2 town board meeting, saying she does not want to create the illusion of Rolesville being a gated community.

Commissioner Frank Eagles said requiring a permit before each sale could be problematic unless residents were allowed to call in beforehand. "Town Hall is not open when many of Rolesville residents are in Rolesville," he said.

Wharton added that many homeowners decide to hold a garage sale at the last minute, especially if they find out neighbors are holding one.

People often hold yard sales after they move, she said, adding that she would hate to give the message to "move in, come on down to Rolesville and sign up (for your yard sale)."

Commissioner Frank Hodge said he was not interested in penalizing 1,000 homeowners because two of them were holding too many yard sales.

Having police check on weekends for permits should not be too difficult, Town Manager Don Dubay said, but Hodge said he would rather police were "out dealing with DWIs."

The public hearing was closed and planning board members had no problems with the draft ordinance.

After a brief discussion -- "How many times can you clean out your house a year and still have enough to have a yard sale?" Grady Hester asked -- planning board members voted on Nov. 25 for approval.

Hester's recommendation to the board this Monday night was brief -- "The planning board has no issues, no concerns" -- with the yard sale ordinance, he said. Planning board members considered the draft ordinance to be no different than requiring homeowners to keep their lawns mowed and limited cars parked on their lots, he added.

Commissioners held to their previous misgivings, especially after Commissioner Betty Whitaker asked if anyone had approached the residents who keep holding yard sales week after week.

"Give them an opportunity to react," she said. "Maybe we need to go talk to them."

Commissioners voted to send someone to talk to the residents, to table the discussion on the ordinance and to allow a committee to investigate and follow up on the matter.