City May Ban Some Commercial Vehicles from Parking in Residential Areas

The Chesterfield City Council gave a first-round nod to a proposal that would restrict which commercial vehicles can park in residential areas of the city, according to a report in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The report said council members will hold a final vote on Sept. 9 on a plan that would make it illegal to openly park certain kinds of commercial vehicles in residential neighborhoods from midnight to 6 a.m.

Banned vehicles would include certain vans, vehicles modified to accommodate advertising, flat-bed trucks, ice cream trucks, landscaping vehicles and several others.

Exceptions would be made for vehicles parked temporarily in order to provide a service.

The council voted on the plan last week, approving it 6-1 with Derek Grier the lone opponent, although Councilman Bruce DeGroot told the Post-Dispatch, "The guy who has a small business trying to make a living for his family and has no other place to park a vehicle, because we’ll end up running him out."

Is this a good plan? Have you noticed a problem with commercial vehicles parked in residential neighborhoods?