ST. GEORGE — If you leave a trailer parked on the side of the road for over 96 hours, you may end up being cited, according to an ordinance the St. George City Council passed Thursday.
While the city has long had an ordinance prohibiting vehicles from being parked along a public street for longer than 24 hours, it did not include trailers, City Attorney Shawn Guzman told the City Council.
Because of this, trailers could end up parked on the roadside for a seemingly indefinite period, which can give rise to safety concerns, particularly in regards to visibility issues around driveways.
The ordinance put originally before the City Council would have given trailer owners the same 24-hour limit.
“Is that going to be enough time?” Mayor Jon Pike asked. It was a sentiment shared by other council council to varying degrees.
Pike said not everyone has a large or deep driveway where a trailer could be stored. Guzman followed up with his assertion that not everyone has an RV garage on site either.
“I think it needs to be realistic,” Councilwoman Michele Randall said, adding that it can sometimes take more than a day to load and unload a trailer, depending on a person’s schedule.
Randal suggested a trailer be allowed on the roadside for up to five days, to which Council Joe Bowcutt said he felt was too long.
As a compromise, the council agreed to a four-day period before any action is taken by the city. The ordinance was quickly passed and affects trailers of all sorts, including flatbed and utility trailers, camper and RV trailers, and moving trailers such as U-Haul.
Individuals believed to be in violation of the ordinance, or any city code in general, are typically given a warning to remedy the situation before any further action is taken.
An overview of the city code related to parking regulations can be found here.
Guzman said the city already hears about suspect trailers from residents who accuse their neighbors of parking the trailer and leaving it in place for a very long time.
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