A. Findings.
1. These regulations are adopted to regulate garage sales in order to advance the substantial governmental interest in protecting the public health, safety and welfare. The regulations have been drafted to directly advance that interest in the narrowest fashion.
2. The intent of this section is to eliminate perpetual, prolonged and extended garage and yard sales. Perpetual, prolonged and extended garage sales have been found to detract from the character of the city by congesting traffic circulation and parking, inconveniencing neighbors, and creating aesthetic degradation through visual clutter. Businesses lawfully operating within the city comply with numerous city, county, state, and federal statutes and regulations applicable to businesses; thus, the non-regulation of perpetual, prolonged and extended garage sales provides an unfair business advantage.
3. Garage sale signs have certain deleterious effects specific to this form of commercial advertising. Garage sale signs create traffic safety problems by causing driver distractions. Garage sale signs undermine neighborhood aesthetics by creating visual clutter. Garage sale signs create a public nuisance that must be abated through expenditures of public funds to remove abandoned signs.
B. Definitions.
GARAGE SALE.
A yard sale, patio sale, garage sale, or any similar sale of merchandise consisting of personal items, by an individual or group, for profit, when the merchandise to be sold is offered to the general public, all of which sales shall be conducted within a building and/or on private property.
C. Time, place and manner restrictions.
1. Garage sales shall be limited to four per calendar year, of a duration not longer than two consecutive days, or one garage sale per calendar year for a duration of not more than seven days, on the same residentially zoned parcel in any one calendar year.
2. Such garage sales shall not be conducted before seven a.m. or after seven p.m.
3. Garage sales be conducted on private property and shall not be permitted on public sidewalks, alleys, streets or other public rights-of-way.
D. Signs. Signs advertising a garage sale may be placed or erected at any location where otherwise legally permissible, subject to the following conditions:
1. No such sign shall exceed four square feet in area;
2. No such sign shall be displayed more than twenty-four hours prior to, nor more than 24 hours following, the event advertised thereon.
3. All signs posted pursuant to this section shall specify on the face of such sign the dates of the garage sale advertised.
E. Enforcement.
1. Every person who, for himself or herself or as an agent of another, commences, engages in, conducts or carries on any garage sale in violation of this section shall be prosecuted for an infraction for a first offense; second and subsequent offenses within one year may be prosecuted as an infraction or misdemeanor.
2. Additionally, any violation of this section shall be declared a public nuisance.
3. The penalties and remedies specified herein shall not be exclusive but shall be cumulative with all other remedies at law or in equity. Additionally, the remedies of this section shall not limit the City nor any person from seeking any other legal remedy available by law, including but not limited to an action for private or public nuisance and any remedy found elsewhere in this Code. (Ord. 2004-10 § 2(part), 2004)