New Boca Raton laws limit garage sales, fertilizer use

Garage sale lovers, take note: A new Boca Raton law restricts how often a homeowner can conduct a sale as well as the time of day.

The law is one of three ordinances recently passed by the City Council that took effect with the new year.

Out-of-control garage sales hadn’t been an overwhelming problem, but residents had noticed a sufficient number that were occurring every weekend, attracting browsers whose cars monopolized neighborhood parking, city officials said.

“It was like having a retail business outside every weekend, with cars taking over the street,” City Council member Monica Mayotte said.

The new rules limit homeowners to four yard sales a year, each lasting two days or less. Hours must be between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Homeowners also will have to get a city permit, which they can obtain online at no cost.

“We tried to make it as easy as possible for them,” Mayotte said.

Violators initially will get a warning and could eventually have to pay $150 plus other fees if they continue to break the rules.

Another new law allows code enforcement officers to ticket a violator directly with a warning or a fine. Previously, for example, if a tenant at a rental property was having a loud party, the property owner would have gotten the citation. Now the partier will get the ticket.

Under the old rules, “there was no incentive to comply right away,” City Council member Andy Thomson said. “We’ll get quicker compliance now.”

City spokeswoman Chrissy Gibson offered another example: “If code enforcement receives a complaint about multiple cars parked all over a neighbor’s front yard, and it’s a rental, code enforcement can investigate and cite the owners of the cars.”

Here are some of the violations that can be ticketed directly and their penalties, although the city says most rule-breakers will get a warning first:

Excessive noise, $150.

Storing a wrecked vehicle on

private property, $75. Unlawful signs, $25. Unlawful elimination of required parking or landscaping, $100.

Another new ordinance restricts the use of fertilizers containing nitrogen or phosphorus, similar to a Palm Beach County law designed to limit chemicals that are entering local waterways.

“Most landscapers already abide by these rules, but there are homeowners who don’t know how to apply the fertilizers properly,” Mayotte said.

The law creates “fertilizer-free zones,” banning the application of lawn chemicals within 10 feet of ponds, canals or other bodies of water. The chemicals, grass clippings or other lawn w/ aste also cannot be pushed into storm-water drains or other bodies of water.

SUN-SENTINEL FILE A new Boca Raton law attempts to restrict the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus being discharged into bodies of water, including by lawn clippings and other yard waste.