Officials consider easing truck rule
Voters favor revisiting parking restriction
With Flossmoor voters backing a proposal to ease the village’s longtime restriction on where pickup trucks can be parked, the results will be reviewed for a potential ordinance change.
With all nine precincts reported, 63 percent of voters were in favor of revisiting the parking ban, while 37 percent were opposed, according to unofficial voting results from the Cook County clerk.
The village has said it will consider the results of the advisory referendum question, and that the Village Board could direct Flossmoor’s plan commission to consider changing the current ordinance that bars pickups from being parked in residential driveways.
The board could bring up the
matter at its next meeting Nov. 19, village manager Bridget Wachtel said Wednesday.
She said the mayor and village trustees had not set a “threshold” of a certain percentage of affirmative votes by residents in order to forward it to the Plan Commission. Wachtel said that in talking with Mayor Paul Braun after the results were in, “there was a feeling of decisiveness among voters” that the board take the next step.
Flossmoor initially banned all pickups from the village in 1975. Since 1989, the village has allowed residents to own pickup trucks, but they must be kept hidden in garages. Parking on driveways is allowed only for loading or unloading materials, according to the current ordinance.
If trustees direct the Plan Commission to take up the matter, the commission would hold a public hearing, then make a recommendation to the Village Board, according to the village.
A draft ordinance would require that residents not keep items in the bed of the truck, unless the bed is covered by a fitted factory cover or after-market cover.
Even if the change is made, not all pickup trucks would be considered equal under the proposed ordinance.
Trucks used for commercial purposes or having “commercial markings or advertising, regardless if it is permanent or temporary,” would have to be garaged, under the draft ordinance. Also excluded from residential driveways would be trucks with any “commercial equipment or appendage” attached to the vehicle's exterior, such as a snow plow blade or auxiliary lighting, according to the proposed ordinance.
Add-ons such as trailer hitches, bike racks and grill guards would not be considered commercial equipment under the ordinance.
Also barred from residential driveways would be pickups weighing more than 4 tons, are taller than 7 feet, have dual rear axles or cargo racks, according to the proposed ordinance change.
Wachtel said that as the matter goes to the Plan Commission for a hearing and discussion, the draft ordinance will be used “as a starting point,” with possible further refinement before the final version of the ordinance is voted on by trustees.
The truck parking prohibition had been referred to by some residents as “elitist” or “snob zoning,” and sustained a number of court challenges more than two decades ago. Some Flossmoor residents in March began collecting signatures on petitions in order to get the advisory question on Tuesday's ballot.