AUGUSTA — Concerns about yard sales that don’t end have at least one city councilor looking to regulate them and limit how long they can take place.

At their Thursday meeting, city councilors will discuss whether the city should adopt an ordinance to regulate and require permits for yard and garage sales at residences.

Augusta City Councilor Anna Blodgett wants the council to consider adopting an ordinance to regulate and require permits for yard and garage sales at residences. Staff file photo by Andy Molloy

Ward 4 Councilor Anna Blodgett, fed up with seemingly year-round, seven-day-a-week yard sales in the city, proposes to regulate them.

“A lot of people — and one in particular — leave stuff out 24-7, 365 days a year,” Blodgett said. “It’s junk, and it just stays there.”

Blodgett cited a South Belfast Avenue residence she drives by regularly as one of the spots in the city where there has been an ongoing yard sale.

She said Augusta should look at what other municipalities do to regulate yard sales. She said several municipalities impose a three-day limit to a yard sale and restrict the number of yard sales on the same site to two or so a year.

She said the ordinance also should regulate where signs for yard sales are placed, banning them on other people’s property, and from utility poles, on which most utility companies already ban the placement of signs.

Matt Nazar, the city’s development director, said the city has no ordinance that specifically regulates yard and garage sales. Over the years, he said, there have been some proposals to add such an ordinance, but none have been put in place.

At this year’s Manchester Town Meeting, residents there approved a yard sale ordinance that restricts such sales to running a maximum of three consecutive days during one week, and to no more than six sales at any single property, or by any resident, per year. Leon Strout, chairman of the Manchester Planning Board, said the ordinance was meant to give the town the authority to prevent problems such as yard sales that take place nearly year-round and can be a nuisance to neighbors. Residents are required to notify the town when they are having a yard sale.

Blodgett said most of the municipal ordinances she looked at require residents to get a permit to have a yard sale, which generally cost $10 or $15.

“So many towns have it,” she said of a yard sale ordinance. “We’ll see what the other (city) councilors think.”

Councilors are scheduled to meet at 6:30 p.m. Thursday to discuss the proposal. Councilors are also scheduled to:

• Consider naming the track at Cony’s Alumni Field in honor of late former track coach Taylor Harmon, who died in October, a proposal numerous people have expressed support for;

• Hear an update from the Kennebec Valley Chamber of Commerce;

• Discuss a proposal to rezone a portion of Western Avenue encompassing the Augusta State Armory; and

• Discuss a proposal to rezone a parcel of land between 921 and 985 Eastern Ave.

Keith Edwards — 621-5647

kedwards@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @kedwardskj

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