Planning board asks for parking direction

You can park a boat or a trailer in an open space outside your home as long as it’s in a designated parking space.

But what constitutes a parking space? The lawn, a gravel driveway on a side yard or an asphalt driveway?
These are the type of questions that still need to be answered before the Planning and Zoning Board will approve certain recommendations to the town’s property maintenance code.

The Planning and Zoning Board Property Maintenance Code Subcommittee submitted its findings to the planning board at its Tuesday, Feb. 19 regular meeting.

Ultimately, the planning board asked for the commissioners to look at parking Key-wide.

Planning board member George Symanski Jr. had some further inquires, too.

“Is a trailer in compliance or not if it sticks out of a garage or a carport?” Symanski asked.

That question prompted more discussion, and the board will review the code again next month.

“Our recommendation is to have the commission throw the trailer and parking issue back to us,” said planning board member John Wild.

Subcommittee members opted not to make a recommendation that the commission consider restrictions on the number of cars that can be parked in a driveway.

But the group does recommend limiting the number of boat trailers to one per house in an open area. Where it can be parked and what constitutes a parking space still needs a discussion.

Code Enforcement officer Amanda Nemoytin said she rarely receives complaints about parked cars but frequently hears concerns about boat trailers, particularly during season.

Currently, the town restricts house campers, trailer homes and motor homes to no more than five days in a location within a 30-day period. The group recommended the same restrictions for storage trailers and pods.

The subcommittee met for four consecutive weeks to discuss whether town codes should be strengthened to address issues such as peeling paint, caving rooftops, ripped screens and broken doors, windows, stairways and railings.

It was formed after the Jan. 15 planning board meeting, during which board members discussed whether restrictions could improve the Key’s appearance without encroaching on property rights.