T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY Marshalltown resident Sean Cruzan attended Thursday night’s meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission to express his frustration with city rules prohibiting inoperable vehicles from being parked outside in driveways.

The second 2024 meeting of the city of Marshalltown’s Planning and Zoning Commission drew a small crowd of about 15 attendees Thursday night as several of them had questions about the enforcement of parking rules in driveways.

City Planner Hector Hernandez spoke first on the parking rules after the city council reviewed them with Public Works Director Heather Thomas back in March. No changes have been formally approved by the city council, but Thomas told the T-R that enforcement of the current rules has been ramped up in recent months.

Hernandez noted some “inconsistencies” in the current rules and regulations, especially between Chapter 72 and Chapter 156 in the city code.

“There just needs to be some cleaning up on Chapter 72,” he said.

P&Z Chairman Jon Boston commented that the commission had “a lot of work to do” and suggested setting up a work session within the next few weeks to dive deeper into the issues at play. Commission member Steve Valbracht thanked city staff for their efforts but said there were pieces that bothered him “a lot” and warranted further consideration.

Fellow commission member Matt Brodin didn’t feel the changes should be rushed through and felt that if they were going to do it, they should do it right to avoid having to make further modifications in the future. Boston then opened the floor to public comments, which drew several meeting attendees to the microphone.

Shari Coughenour said that under the new proposal, even with her “nice, long” driveway, which is detached in the rear, she would only be able to park two cars in her rear yard. She doesn’t have front yard parking but does have gravel that’s maintained and a turnaround she maintains.

“It’s unclear as to if I were to have a party and four of my kids come over, my dad comes over, and they can all park in the backyard, and then I might be subject to a fine,” she said. “So the zoning (Chapter) 156 allows, for new construction at the current time, a minimum number of two parking spaces and a maximum of four. So it seems that that would be a reversion of what the original intent of the zoning law would be required.”

She added that her backyard parking would not be visible from the street, only the alley, and didn’t feel the rules were fair to north side residents like her as opposed to newer properties on the south side. Tim Bradbury, a fellow north sider, came forward next and wondered about flexibility during snow events while noting that he had “a couple extra vehicles” he wasn’t sure what to do with if they couldn’t be parked legally anymore.

“I think I should have the right to have good running vehicles as long as my property ain’t a junkyard and all that because there (are) issues with people that have too many and a junkyard, and I’d like to see those addressed,” he said. “But also, somehow be able to be flexible with us that don’t have a ton of money but yet we keep our areas but have a right to several vehicles run in order. I like to exchange my vehicles and do whatever, but it’s my right to and I’d just like to be able to work with you guys on something like that.”

Boston indicated that he was familiar with Bradbury and Coughenour’s issues as his own grandparents lived in an older part of town with a garage coming off of an alley, and eight or more cars would be parked there during a family get together. He also hoped to find a compromise on the snow ordinance matter.

Paul Illum, who previously spoke during the public comment period at Monday night’s city council meeting, said he was getting tired of hearing the refrain from property owners that they can do whatever they want on their land.

“People don’t understand, and they don’t realize, as a property owner in this city, you have some responsibilities not only to your neighbors but to the city as well,” he said. “You know, people in this city are trying to do the best they can about bringing business here, getting new people to move to our town and all this. All the junk and stuff that’s sitting around now, I understand there’s over 500 violations right now with parking. I may be off on that number, but it’s the same thing with dog owners. When you get a dog, you have a responsibility not only to yourself but to your neighbors as well and the city as well.”

If an individual can afford a $150,000 motorhome or antique cars, Illum added, they should be able to find a storage area for them. He also worried that allowing too much yard parking would have a negative impact on storage unit businesses.

Sean Cruzan offered a contrasting take from Illum’s, noting Marshalltown’s history as a racing community and the fact that many people, like himself, have classic cars. In a recent social media post, Cruzan said he had been told by a police officer that an inoperable vehicle he was working on in his driveway was “illegal.”

“You’re telling these people that they can’t put a vehicle outside without an engine in it and it moving. I have mine in the backyard. It’s on concrete. I have a garage in the back and a garage in the front. I move my car out for a short time because I’m working on some railing and I get hassled,” Cruzan said. “(Illum’s) idea with the storage unit, that’s fine if you’re not doing anything, but how can you work on it in a storage unit. Your tools are not there. Your air compressor’s not there. What do you do then?”

Boston instructed Hernandez to come up with a date and time for a work session and let the commission know when it will be occurring. After the meeting, City Councilor Mark Mitchell, who was in attendance and has led the charge on increasing code enforcement since he was sworn into office in January, shared his insights on the topic. In his understanding, simply putting a cover over a vehicle in a driveway would keep it in compliance with city code.

Mitchell added that even in the course of driving around town, he noticed a host of violations, and his partner Leigh Bauder joked that he now had a target on his back thanks to his recent efforts.

“I’m looking forward to seeing the recommendations after the planning and zoning work group meets. This is a difficult issue, but we need consistency in our codes and rules so they can be applied fairly to everyone,” Mitchell said. “My hope is that fair code enforcement will help us work towards a cleaner looking community that can promote growth.”

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Contact Robert Maharry at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.