Albion could limit garage sales

ALBION – Some members of the Village Board want to limit how often residents can have garage sales after complaints that two locations currently have sales almost every day during the summer.

The board is considering enacting a local law that would limit garage sales to Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Code Enforcement Officer Ron Vendetti suggested residents be required to register a garage sale. There won’t be a fee to the village, but Vendetti would like to have a record of when residents have garage sales. He would like to limit locations to no more than two different garage sales a year.

Village Board members didn’t want to go that route yet. Limiting sales to three-day maximums would address some of the current sites that seem to have sales perpetually during the summer.

“This is an attempt to define a garage sale so it’s not a business,” Vendetti told the board.

Trustee Stan Farone doesn’t want to see any restrictions on garage sales, especially when there are only two that are prolonged.

Mayor Dean London would like to see some guidelines in a local law. “There’s only two now but there could be 10 in the future,” London responded.

The village will have a public hearing on the proposal at 7 p.m. on Sept. 10. That hearing is for setting Friday through Sundays as options for garage sales.

Vendetti also would like to see the village impose sign standards for garage sales. He said the signs advertising a sale should be limited to a person’s property, and not be posted on telephone poles and other prominent spots in the community.

“You have no idea how we chase down all these people with yard sale signs,” Vendetti said. “They’re good at putting up the signs but not so good about taking them down.”

Farone said he opposed a local law about garage sales. He said the sales draw people to the village.

“I don’t want to punish everyone in the village because one person has a garage sale seven days a week,” Farone said. “I don’t want to be known as the village that restricts or bans garage sales.”

London said he welcomes feedback from the community during the public hearing.

“We can look at it and start somewhere,” he said. “We can always revisit it.”