The home on the corner of Kern and Welburn avenues has garage
sales almost every weekend. Is this allowed? I thought two times a
year was the limit.
“The home on the corner of Kern and Welburn avenues has garage sales almost every weekend. Is this allowed? I thought two times a year was the limit.”
Red Phone: Dear No Place For A Sale, You are partially correct, good caller. Garage sales are actually limited to once per year, and they can’t go longer than seven days. So that means residents can have one big garage sale rather than several smaller ones.
A person is required to have a permit, and the garage sale can only be held between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. In addition, the Municipal Code says that all items being sold have to be owned by the person selling them for at least a year previously.
That said, the city doesn’t put a high priority on tracking down someone who just wants to sell some items occasionally. But the city is more likely to get involved if there is a health or safety violation, said Code Enforcement Officer Scott Barron.
“Generally we are not proactive on the enforcement of garage sales. However when we receive complaints, we strive to follow up on them like with any other violation of municipal code that is brought to our attention,” he said. “Obviously life safety issues would take precedence. On the surface it does appear to be trivial, but occasionally garage sales set up by industrious individuals can grow in size and frequency to resemble a commercial retail operation set up in a residential area.”
As with other violations, if someone observes a violation of Municipal Code such as this, he or she should contact the code enforcement office at 846-0264 to provide details, Barron said.
Where’s the oversight committee?
“It’s been 14 months. Where’s the Citizen’s Oversight Committee for Measure P passed in 2008? And why isn’t it in existence? Any answers?”
Red Phone: Dear Where’s The Accountability, It looks like there already is an oversight committee in place to handle the $150 million in Measure P funds. The 11-member committee, which the Dispatch reported being formed in April, meets quarterly and had its last meeting on Tuesday. The meetings are open to the public.
So if you are interested in voicing your opinion on how the money is spent, you call the school district at 847-2700 to find out more about meeting dates and times. For more information on the committee, go to www.gilroydispatch.com/news/255085-school-district-select-bond-oversight-committee-members.
Follow-up on blocked signs
Red Phone: A caller last week was wondering if there was anything the city could do to clear trees and make the signs to Highway 101 on Leavesley Road more visible. Initially City Engineer Don Dey said the city might need to contact private property owners to get the trees removed.
But after crews inspected the site, he said the city operations staff would be able to remove one of the trees and trim the others ones to make the signs more visible within the next week or two. So if the trees are still in the way, give Red Phone a call again.
