City to consider yard sale restrictions

Residents wanting to hold a yard sale in Whitefish could be facing restrictions on the length and frequency of those sales.

The City-County Planning Board May 17 recommended changes to the zoning code that limits garage sales to three sales every six months. Sales are also limited to three days on weekends, such as Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The board considered the changes as part of a number of proposed additional restrictions for home-based businesses.

City planning staff originally included language that allowed for a sale on 10 consecutive days every six months. However, the planning board felt that length of sale was unreasonable.

“I don’t go to garage sales, but don’t most sales happen on three days over a weekend,” asked board member Mary Vail. “I don’t know people who go to garage sales during the week.”

Over the years the city has kept a log of minor issues associated with various sections of the zoning code. Yard sales previously weren’t addressed and neither were certain home-business uses that can create problems with neighbors, such as parking.

Planning director David Taylor said the changes are intended to clean up the code and allow for enforcement. Yard sales are being added to the code as an exception to the home-based business rules because it’s temporary.

Taylor said the city received numerous complaints last summer about an ongoing yard sale at a home near City Beach.

“With our attempts to quell concerns we discovered that our codes were inadequate,” he said. “We looked into other cities and found that most allow yard sales to take place a couple of weekends.”

The revised regulations also restrict the kind of businesses that can operate from home, banning vehicle repair, equipment or vehicle rentals, retail sales with stock and trade on premises (with the exception of yard sales), storage of household goods, extermination services, pet boarding services, dispatch businesses in which employees come to the site and are sent elsewhere. Car detailing is allowed provided that washing occurs off-site and detailing occurs within an enclosed garage one vehicle at a time with no outside storage.

There is also a limit of two business vehicles per home occupation allowed parked on the premises.

Changes also update the exterior signs to a building-mounted sign two square feet in size to match the city sign code. Previously a four square foot sign was allowed.

Under city regulations, any business that operates from home is required to have a business license which costs $15 per year. Businesses must also have a home-business permit to operate, which is free.

City Council will review the recommendation at its June 4 meeting and vote on the changes.