A car with eight parking violations became a topic of discussion during the Leesburg Town Council meeting Monday.
Street Commissioner Craig Charlton said there is a town ordinance that states there’s no parking on the street between 3 and 5 a.m. One car at 105 W. Van Buren St. has had eight violations of the ordinance. None of the violations have been paid.
“It’s time to tow the vehicle,” said President Doug Jones.
Councilman Tom Moore said he wanted to make sure all the boxes were checked and all the legal steps were followed before the car was towed. Jones said the issue was a reoccurring problem.
Town attorney Vern Landis said, according to the ordinance, the town has the authority to tow the vehicle. Jones asked if that would protect the town from being sued. Landis said no, but whether the owner of the vehicle would be able to win the suit is a different story.
Vice President Christina Archer said she doesn’t know of any town or city where someone “can repeatedly ignore parking situations and not get towed.”
Charlton said he’d have to call Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office and have an officer come down and show them a copy of the ordinance.
Dan Richards, Kosciusko Area Plan director, spoke to the council about the possibility of joining the Area Planning Commission. Richards said it was easier to name the towns that weren’t part of the commission. Those towns included Leesburg, Sidney, Warsaw and Winona Lake.
Richards said being part of the commission was all or nothing, but there were no fees to be part of commission for the town. Theoretically, the town is paying through tax levies now.
One of the things discussed is when a permit was needed.
Richards said if a person changes the footprint of a property, that is when a permit was needed. Routine maintenance would not need a permit.
Moore asked what is done if a property is out of compliance. Richards said the commission will go out to confirm the issue and write the homeowner a letter saying they need to come and get a permit. If the letter is ignored, a certified letter is sent out. If a third letter is needed, Richards does that, saying the next step is dealing with the commission’s attorney and court if the issue is not handled. Most people don’t get that far.
One of the big topics was what authority the commission had.
For nonconforming existing structures, the commission can’t come in and clean it up unless they’re out of compliance with the ordinances. One example, he said, is if someone has five cars on their lawn when they joined, they’re not going to do anything unless there’s an increase. However, if something is a hazard, the commission is going to get the Kosciusko County Health Department involved.
Richards said if something goes all the way to the Board of Zoning Appeals, the board has final say. The board usually keeps with the town’s decision on the issue.
In other business, the town council:
• Approved its 2021 budget. The total budget is $264,496. The rainy day fund is $7,200. The general fund is $139,100. The local road and street fund is $8,000. The motor vehicle highway fund is $107,196. The cumulative capital improvements fund is $3,000.
• Discussed the golf cart ordinance. It was decided the ordinance should say that if a person is under 16, the person is not allowed to drive anything electrical down the street. Landis said he would work on the wording for the ordinance change.
