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In an ordinance proposed this week to the City Council, only city-permitted businesses will be allowed to sell vehicles on vacant lots.
If passed, the regulation would eradicate many of the ad-hoc vendors who park their cars, boats and RVs throughout the city.
Several of the owners are individuals, but some are out-of-state dealerships trying to avoid taxes and laws, said Rudy Dossett of Dossett Big 4.
The practice, called "curbstoning," involves dealers who pretend they're individual owners. Typically, but not always, Dossett said, their cars have problems or were involved in prior accidents.
"We see them every day over here," said Dossett, whose large dealership sits within sight of an often-used lot.
The practice not only threatens legitimate dealers, but it also degrades city aesthetics, said Ward 3 Councilman Jim Newell.
It was Newell who introduced the ordinance after hearing complaints from businesses on South Gloster Street, where many of the vendors without permits have set up shop.
"I've had car dealers feel like they're in competition with those people," Newell told fellow council members on Monday. "Plus, this would make South Gloster more attractive."
That's a major concern for Dewayne Pearson, sales manager at Frankie Blackmon Chevrolet, also on South Gloster.
"I don't consider it competition," Pearson said. "I consider it basically an eyesore."
Also included in the ordinance are regulations on private-property vehicle sales. Residents would be capped on the number of vehicles they could sell from their yards, said city Planner Pat Falkner.
The council will study the proposal for two weeks before voting at its April 6 meeting.
Contact Emily Le Coz at (662) 678-1588 or emily.lecoz@djournal.com.
Who stands to gain the most by the council banning these "vacant lot sales"?
The car dealers.
They probably whined to the council members, who they helped get elected, and the council members are beholding to them. So, they decide that it's more important to serve their campaign contributors than it is to allow citizens to sell their cars in tough economic times.
So, it doesn't matter that the citizens don't have a problem with the vacant lot sales, it's the car dealer campaign contributors that the council is serving here.
Follow the money and you always get to the real core of the issue.
There are yard sale permits. Sell a car instead of garage sale items. What's the difference? Just limit the number of times or length of sale like you do the yard sales.