City Council Discusses Clarifying Ordinances

O’Fallon residents may soon find some of their city laws easier to understand.

During Thursday night’s workshop, for the second time, council members discussed bills that would amend existing ordinances regarding parking commercial vehicles, nuisances and ordinance style.

Bill 6087 would amend sections of the city code regarding the parking of commercial vehicles in residential and public parking lots.

Ward 4 Councilman Bob Howell said during the workshop, that in the past year, he has received several complaints of tractor-trailers and semi-trucks parking and idling for hours, especially at gas stations near Bryan Road and I-70.

“That being such a busy intersection and even in other areas of the city it becomes nuisance and somewhat of a problem,” he said. “The bottom line is we need to get something in order and I was looking for council’s input to solve the issue so we don’t have people pulling in and parking wherever they think fit.”

Howell added there was also concern about residential areas where vehicles are parking and idling at all hours of the night.

Ward 4 Councilman Jeff Schwentker echoed Howell’s concerns, and said he also received calls about semis parking on city property near the TR Hughes stadium.

“The police department has hard time enforcing this so council needs to take action to ensure what needs to be enforced is enforced,” he said.

O’Fallon Police Chief Roy Joachimstaler said police have run into problems enforcing laws regarding parking because the city currently has two ordinances dealing with commercial vehicles.

Ward 2 Councilwoman Rose Mack asked if the amended ordinance would affect residents with personal diesel vehicles.

City Administrator Keith Riesberg asked if it was the intent of the city council to regulate the idling activity or focus on the parking of the commercial vehicles.

Ward 3 Councilman John Haman, Jr. said he thinks there are two separate issues to be dealt with, both a parking and a noise ordinance.

During the regular meeting, Howell made a motion to table Bill 6087 and council approved. Howell said he would like to give city staff time to listen to their concerns and come up with a solution.

Bill 6088 would amend sections of the city code to clarify the definition of nuisances, with minor tweaks that would make the language more understandable to both members of the community and those enforcing the laws.

During the workshop, Ward 2 Councilman Jim Pepper used the example of the word “obstruction” and said this was unclear when referring to landscaping and traffic.

“If we can go back and get something less subjective and more definitive, I’d appreciate it,” he said.

City Attorney Kevin O’Keefe told Pepper one purpose of the ordinance is to protect unforeseen circumstances and an “obstruction” may not interfere with traffic, but could interfere with uses of public property.

Riesberg suggested the issue be approached from an enforcement standpoint rather than changing the ordinance, which could create financial liabilities for the city in the future.

Council also approved tabling this bill for further review of city staff.

Council members also discussed a proposed ordinance that would amend the style of ordinances and require plain language when legal jargon could cause confusion.

Ward 1 Councilman Rick Lucas said the intent of this ordinance is to ensure the laws are understandable but in compliance with the legal terminology needed to satisfy state and supreme level statues.

“What we would like to see is some way to protect the legal version but also make them more readable,” he said.

Pepper suggested a bi-lingual approach, meaning some ordinances would contain the legal terms with standard wording in parenthesis to make the meaning more clear to residents.

Schwentker said the council doesn’t intend to put every ordinance in parenthesis, but suggested council members contact the city attorney anytime they feel it would be necessary depending on the wording of the ordinance.

City staff will also review the council’s concerns for this ordinance.

During Thursday’s meeting, Schwentker was unanimously voted as the council’s new president pro-tem. Schwentker thanked Haman for serving a two-year term in the position.

 “Your shoes will be hard to fill, and we appreciate everything you’ve done,” he said.

At the meeting, council approved releasing remaining escrow funds for , including widening for the Townes of Belleau Creek. 

The next city council meeting is May 12 at 7:30 p.m. at City Hall. The workshop begins at 5:30 p.m.