BAKER, La. (WAFB) – The City of Baker is working on an ordinance they say will crack down on neighborhood blight and illegitimate businesses, but neighbors say the language of the ordinance does not reflect the council’s intent.
“This ordinance is focusing on penalizing homeowners who operate or work on vehicles in their yard, which is contrary to their true intent,” Dr. Toni Jackson, a community advocate, said.
Dr. Toni says neighbors agree with the intent, but the actual language of the ordinance could penalize some homeowners for working on their cars at home. The ordinance says people can only work on cars on their property if the car is in their name.
“So, say for example, my daughter, she’s moved on, and she comes home to visit me. Her vehicle is in her name. She doesn’t live here but says she has some type of mechanical issue, and her vehicle doesn’t start. If someone walks past or drives past and sees me working on that vehicle, I am instantly in violation,” Dr. Toni said.
Baker Mayor Darnell Waites says the goal is code enforcement.
“If I notice it on my way home or another neighbor notice it on their way home, people called and they say, hey, look, they’ve been working on this car here for the last month, that’s how we do it. And then before we actually go to try to hurt anybody, we probably will send them a letter or just go knock on the door and say, hey, what you’re doing, you know that’s against the law,” Waites said.
The ordinance also requires residents to properly dispose of oil after changing it. It also originally required residents to be done with car repairs within 72 hours, but Waites says they just extended that to seven to 10 days after getting feedback from the community.
“We will keep making adjustments till we feel like on both ends we, the, you know, the sole purpose goes through. That’s all it is. It is what people do when you govern,” Waites said.
Dr. Toni says she is bringing her concerns about the ordinance’s language to a work session scheduled for Monday night, and she hopes everyone will end up on the same page.
“I want them to understand that if you make the ordinance very clear, it makes it easy to be enforced, it makes it easier for you to get the buy in from the citizens,” Dr. Toni said. “We get what you’re trying to do. But it isn’t captured as is in this ordinance. The definitions are incomplete. There’s no definition of what commercial activity is illegal, business license repair operation. All of those things are going to be crucial for enforcement.”
The ordinance is expected to go before the city council on August 26.
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