Parking Restrictions
The City of Fort Smith is considering implementing parking restrictions in neighborhoods. Here is a direct link to a news release (PDF) on the City of Fort Smith web site regarding an effort to provide all Fort Smith residents detailed information about this topic - a topic that has generated unusually high citizen interest.
On Tuesday, Nov. 27, Fort Smith Director of Development and Construction Wally
Bailey will present a detailed briefing to the board of directors. Hard copies of the news release will be available at Fort Smith Public Libraries.
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Restriction's
Good and Bad. If used right it will be a good thing. If it is used wrong it will be a bad thing and when you get more people involved the more screwed up it get's. People wont it their way.
It comes down to who's Ox is being Gored.
Park or Be A Criminal
Has anyone noticed that the ordinance essentially makes it illegal for some Fort Smith residents to park near their homes? If there's no room on the lot for a driveway, and not enough room in the street for everyone to park, and you don't have access to the back yard, AND you're not allowed to park on the grass right next to the street in front of the house, where is a good citizen supposed to park?
And if I park in the only possible spot at my house (on the grass) and get caught, it's a misdermeanor. I've never had a ticket before. If I have a bunch of misdermeanors because of this, will it keep me from getting a job? Does a certain number of misdermeanors equal a felony? Or does the city of Fort Smith want to force me to move and essentially kick me out? I'm very confused and upset about this ordinance. I'm sure there's a bunch of people who love it, but not me.
parking
Brandan , that is funny.
Go Annie Go. Hell there's alot more things to do here than wory about this problem for now. Dranage, streets and it gos on and on. Looks like were stuck with the Blind leading the Blind. O well, par for the course. Life is worth living somewhere. I wonce heard, if the world needed an enema, Ft Smith is where thay would plug it in. Now that's funey. Just Humor.
Seagull
Concrete issue.
I wonder if there is a much bigger issue in our neighborhoods and if they could be cleaned up without penalizing people who might not have the concrete slab, but keep a nice yard. I don't live within city limits--but I have wondered who will go about enforcing this rule if passed and if they will rely on neighbors to report one another to the city for warning and penalization.
Parking Restrictions
Since my last post it has been brought to my attention that it was not tihe intention of the city of Fort Smith to focus so much on individuals' parking habits, but rather to deter people from using their yards like car lots. As we all know there are some people who try to use their front yard to run "businesses." The city has no desire to penelize people who keep nice yards, take good care of their property, but who have gravel drives. I am thankful for that, because now due to drain off from the streets I need to look into retro fitting a foundation under my house and I would sure hate to choose between that, a drive way and a roof now. ")
L. Annie Sells
Independent Associate
Liberty Legal Solutions, LLC
back in line, citizen.
back in line, citizen.
Great News
This is great news! It is about time that the city protects us from the dirtbags that park their cars in their front yard or have 4 or 5 cars for sell all at the same time (basically running a used car lot from their house). My neighborhood will look a bunch better, and my hosue will be worth more money. Besides, since the cars wont be in the front yard any more, there will be more room for much more practical things, such as sofas, recliners and plastic pink flamingos. I think they should go one step further though, and ban pine trees in front yards - I hate those sap-dripping bastards that stain my couch and makes it sticky.
Keep up the good work, guys!
Two Sides to Every Coin or Man-Made Rock
First allow me to say that I do not take offense to your statement, but like my title says there are at least two sides to every coin. I would not go so far as to call people who are trying to make a few bucks by selling used or rebuilt cars "dirt bags," but I do feel that the residential streets of town are not the place for that. There is the astetics factor as well as the property value factor. However there are other things to consider, allow me to elaborate.
I just bought my first home here in Fort Smith 11 months ago. I paid more than my neighbors for my house, because it was recently gutted and remodeled and is larger than most of the houses in the neighborhood. However past residents had used the yard as a parking lot. So the first thing I had to do was haul in drump truck loads of dirt and completely re-landscape my yard. Fortunate for me I have done landscaping for years and have a family of green thumbs. So I did not have to spend a huge amount of money. But it did cost my my entire spring and summer in time and labor with my own two hands.
Then I received this public statement in my mail box saying that I would have to put in a concrete driveway to park my cars on. Being the normally law abiding citizen that I am I immediatley began searching for someone to bid me a driveway large enough to park my two-to-three cars on and thick enough to meet grade. The best quote I got for for $6,000. So in the last year I have bought a home, put up fencing (so I can have my trusty companion in town and a safe place for my son to play), relandscaped my yard and fought the city for months about drainage issues only to find that the same city wants me to spend six grand on a slab of concrete.
We would all love to have beautiful, astetically pleasing and expensive drive ways, but sometimes it just isn't in the cards. Unfortunatley for me I have to put a roof on my house first! So much for all of my hopes and dreams of adding on and or building a portch or heaven forbid planting some trees. I have to buy a huge chunk of man-made rock first it seems.
L. Annie Sells
Independent Associate
Liberty Legal Solutions, LLC