The New Port Richey City Council will meet this coming Tuesday (January 6th) for its first meeting of the year.  There are a few things on the agenda that you might find of interest:

There will be a second reading of  changes to the city’s property maintenance code.  Most notably, property owners won’t be able to leave tarps up forever in lieu of fixing a building’s roof and unpainted plywood will no longer be an acceptable alternative to replacing a door or a window.

There will be a second reading of changes to our alcohol ordinance for special events.  A positive change is that it will make it easier for events to be hosted on Railroad Square by the businesses on the Square.  A negative change is that it will allow an unlimited number of events in Sims Park to serve beer.  I believe the Sims Park change is a mistake.

There will be a second reading of changes to our prostitution ordinance.  The changes will make it easier for our police officers to arrest repeat offenders.

We will continue to tackle some difficult issues in subsequent meetings, for instance:

Coming up in two weeks will be a work session to try to hash out how to limit parking on residential lawns.  This has become an issue primarily with rental properties where multiple drivers are all living in the same single family residence and destroying both the lawn and the appearance of the neighborhood by parking all over what used to be grass.

The trick is going to be to craft an ordinance that helps improve the appearance of our neighborhoods without limiting the right of our residents to enjoy their property.  Can we figure out how to allow the fellow around the corner to park his six figure race boat next to his driveway or another neighbor to park his race car trailer in his back yard and at the same time get rid of large commercial trailers and converted school buses that sit in some yards for months at a time?

All of our council meetings and work sessions are open to the public.  The regular meetings start at 7:00 pm and the work sessions typically start at 5:00 or 5:30.  All meetings are noticed on the city website (http://www.cityofnewportrichey.org)

I hope that each of you has a very safe and productive 2015.

 

Rob Marlowe, Mayor