- April 26, 2024
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To make it easier for Palm Coast to track the number of garage sales taking place, the City Council on Tuesday approved an ordinance that will require residents to get a permit before holding a garage sale.
The permit will help the city’s Code Enforcement Department limit each residence to two garage sales per year, as outlined in the city’s code.
Initially, the permit would have required a $5 fee to cover administrative costs, but City Councilman Bill McGuire suggested the fee be canceled.
City Manager Jim Landon said the $5 was not for revenue, but simply a tool to help code enforcement officers track how many garage sales people are having.
If someone having a garage sale doesn’t have a permit, that will likely be because there already were two sales at that residence. In that case, the resident can be cited by code enforcement, Landon said.
“It’s not for the revenue whatsoever,” Landon said. “There’s not enough revenue in it to make it worthwhile. It’s an enforcement tool.”
Said McGuire: “What we’re trying to do here is answer the citizens who complained that their neighbors are having an excessive amount of garage sales, which is a legitimate complaint.”
With a 4-1 vote, the City Council approved the resolution. City Councilman Frank Meeker was the lone member who voted against the permit requirement.
Meeker, who said he has not gotten many complaints from residents, said the city’s code enforcement could handle the problem. Meeker wasn’t a proponent of requiring a permit to do something on private property.
“I like my government small, I don’t like collecting information about citizens — I don’t like having to get permits for things I’m doing on my property,” Meeker said.
City Councilman Jason DeLorenzo initially proposed the ordinance in July.
“All neighbors have rights,” DeLorenzo said. “You have a right to have a couple garage sales per year, and I have a right to not have traffic on my street and parking on my lawn — and property rights are for everyone.”
If the ordinance is officially approved at the next City Council meeting in two weeks, residents will be able to apply for permits online, over the phone or at city offices. The city’s website will then feature a list of what garage sales are taking place each weekend, as well as maps on the locations throughout town. Additionally, residents will have 150 characters to describe items being sold at the garage sale.
