Law being studied to ban yard parking

Parking vehicles in your yard could soon be a thing of the past in Corbin as the city’s Building Inspector, responding to complaints that it is unsightly and lowers property values, is working on a local law that would ban the practice.

Corbin Building Inspector and Code Enforcement Officer Frank Burke said he is currently investigating parking ordinances in other cities in Kentucky to see how they address the issue. He said the measure isn’t currently a “high priority” for his office, but he is working on it and hopes to present something to the city’s five-member Board of Commissioners sometime this year.

“Some of them have complained about it quite a bit over the past year,” he said. “It’s a sticking point with some people. People want something done.”

Right now, Burke said there are residences in the city where people commonly park numerous cars in their yard along with boats, campers, motorcycles and other recreational vehicles.

“To many, it devalues the property in the areas where they do this and it looks junky,” Burke said. “We don’t want to be like a Gestapo. You can’t totally eliminate it, but you’ve got to have some kind of control.”

Corbin City Manager Bill Ed Cannon said he generally favors the idea of not allowing parking in yards, but would have to see the details of any ordinance before he finalizes his opinion.

“A lot of people take advantage of it and, truthfully, I can see the need for it,” Cannon said. “There’s been a few issues with that in Corbin.”

Corbin City Commissioner Phil Gregory, who has been critical of yard parking in the past, said he doesn’t want to institute an all out ban until the issue is thoroughly investigated. He said he understands that there are some residents in town who have inadequate parking at their home and on the streets.

“I think it’s a problem … especially when people park in their front yards. It just looks bad,” Gregory said. “I understand that it’s people’s property, though, and that’s why I feel like we should try to look for ways to fix it to where some of them could park on the street. There are some instances where people don’t have land to fix a driveway and it is not their fault. I think we need to do a little more research. We may have to make exceptions in some cases.”

Burke said he is currently looking at parking ordinances in the city of Winchester as a model. He said if enacted, he would like for violations to be handled by the city’s Code Enforcement Board.

“That just simplifies everything,” Burke said. “People would not worry about having to go through the court system.”

Burke said he does not favor passing an ordinance against yard parking, and then enforcing it with zeal. Instead, he said he feels ample warning for residents who violated the law would be more effective.
“You have to use a lot of discretion. I can’t see going out here and citing people all over town, but we can knock on doors and say you can’t do that. Once people get the idea, hopefully it would catch on.”