Published: October 05, 2008 12:38 am            

Elkhart outlaws continuous yard sales

ELKHART — Elkhart residents planning to hold a garage sale need to add one more thing to their to-do lists before setting up their tables — purchase a permit.

Beginning Monday, Elkhart residents who hold a yard sale or garage sale will be required to first obtain a $10 permit from the city. The Elkhart City Council passed a garage sale ordinance with a 3-1 vote during a special meeting held Sept. 29.

The new law is in response to growing frustration over seemingly never-ending garage sales, said Elkhart Mayor Joe Burris.

“We’ve got two or three citizens who want to have a continuous sale,” Burris said Thursday. “We have one who’s been having a continuous garage sale out of their front yard. It’s become offensive to their neighbors.

“We decided before somebody got hurt we’d better curb it,” Burris added. “We want people to be able to have garage sales but after three days, they’ve got to take it up.”

Under the new law, Elkhart residents may hold one garage sale a month, for no longer than three days at a time, according to the ordinance, and signs may be displayed only one day prior to the sale and must be taken down by the end of the day following the sale’s conclusion. In addition, signs may not be placed in the street’s right-of-way or on highway signs and the city permit must be on display at the garage sale.

The law does not ban neighbors from holding garage sales as a group and it does not affect people selling less than five items from their homes.

For more information on obtaining a garage sale permit, call the City of Elkhart at 903-764-5657.

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Beth Foley may be contacted via e-mail at bfoley@palestineherald.com

        

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