It has been an argument that has spanned over multiple months and has caused discord within the community as to whether to allow, or not allow, the parking of tractor-trailer trucks in the areas zoned as residential.
At the Tuesday, April 12 meeting of the Madison city commissioners, it was decided to leave the law, which restricts industrial trucks from parking in residential areas, as-is.
There has been much discussion about this topic between commissioners and the citizens alike and at the April 12 meeting, it was hoped that the matter would be finally laid to rest.
At the special commission meeting called together on Tuesday, March 22, Scott Koons, the Executive Director at the North Florida Regional Planning Council supplied a workshop and gave his suggestions as to how the matter be best handled.
It was Koons’ general thought that the roads could not support the weight of large industrial trucks, that the safety hazards were too great and that passing the motion to amend or remove the ordinance regarding tractor-trailer parking in residential areas was the wisest choice.
Bennett brought up these opinions again and stepped back to allow the commissioners to make their decision.
The choices before the commissioners were to either retain status quo – no trucks in excess of one ton would be permitted to park in the residential zones without facing enforcement; to repeal the ordinance entirely; to amend it to allow drivers to park their trucks within 100 feet of their residence or to allow tractor-trailer trucks to park in residential zones only as long as they are parked in their designated driveway.
Commissioner Townsend raised questions about how the law would be enforced if they chose the first option – retain status quo. If there were no complaints from the neighborhood about someone parking their tractor-trailer truck in the area, would the Madison Police Department still enforce the law regarding the parking?
“It is my understanding that the police department would only go to the areas where neighbors had complained,” said Bennett in reply to Townsend’s inquiry. “If we receive no complaint from the neighborhood, we will not send code enforcement to that area.”
Good or bad, Bennett saw it as a common sense approach to enforcement.
Opening the podium to citizen input, six citizens came to the podium to express support, concerns and ideas to the commissioners.
One of the citizens who came forward to speak was Ernest Rains, who began his speaking session by thanking the commissioners for all they had done regarding this matter.
Rains argued that the ordinance regarding tractor-trailer parking was outdated.
“The statues, the codes [and] regulations [written] in here were made years and years and years ago, before trucks became modernized and became as safe as they are now,” said Rains. He continued, saying that he had never heard of a child being involved in a pedestrian versus semi collision, although he knew of plenty that had involved a car.
Rains argued that the experience of industrial truck operators is an asset that is not being considered.
Another argument that Rains brought up was that there was already city street damage that had not been caused by tractor-trailer trucks. “[Some of the] same streets have been cracked up since I was a kid,” said Rains. “The trucks didn’t damage them.”
Before leaving the podium, Rains had one final point to make. “It is hard for me to picture that one truck in [the] Madison city limits will keep a man up, when he [has] four-five hundred [cars] going past his house every day,” said Rains.
Following Rains, Barry Barnhart came to the podium.
“This is really bothering me in that we have had so much dissension, on both sides, where we want it our way [regarding this matter],” said Barnhart.
Barnhart commended the commissioners in their desire to take care of the property and the people in Madison County, but voiced his concerns, stating that no one was seeking a compromise.
Barnhart’s solution to the problem would be to set aside a parcel of land near the Industrial Park for the use of big truck drivers to park their vehicles overnight, claiming that he would love to see that option looked into further so that both sides of the argument could be provided.
“In order to prevent people from becoming upset and then transferring it to being upset with each other, it’s a good idea to compromise,” said Barnhart.
Donnell Davis was the next individual to take to the podium, hoping to spread the idea that the tractor-trailer debate should not cause so much strife within the community.
Davis quoted Psalms 109 before continuing, in his own words, that this matter of a truck should not define the Madison community.
“You are doing good if all you worry about is a truck,” said Davis.
Other citizens came to the podium, such as Gereldine Thompson, who was concerned about how the enforcement of the ordinance would restrict her husband, an industrial truck driver, from parking in front of their home. Jackie Johnson, who continued with the idea presented by Barnhart about setting aside land for the parking of trucks, asking if the county could even be worked with.
Following community input, Commissioner Townsend asked what the commissioners could do to help Madison residents who drove trucks while still appeasing the communities that do not want trucks in their neighborhood. Bennett confirmed that there was already work being done to search for places outside of residential zones that could be formatted for the expressed purposed for tractor-trailer parking.
With the time for a vote approaching, the motion was made to keep the ordinance as it is.
The vote went out and three commissioners voted for the motion with two voting against.
With the vote finalizing the matter, the decision was made.
No tractor-trailer trucks will be allowed to park within city limits and should a complaint arise from a neighborhood where a truck is parking, the driver will face code enforcement.
However, city staffs were instructed to explore the other locations where tractor-trailers may be parked within city limits. The report is due to be completed within the next 30 days. The commissioners will look over the locations and decide how to proceed with making it ideal for all members of the community.
At the next city commission meeting, which is scheduled for Tuesday, May 10, the options will be reviewed for the parking of tractor-trailer trucks in a place outside of residential zones.