Unenclosed Storage / Parking of Vehicles

The Village of Fox Point maintains several ordinances that regulate storage and use of personal property. These ordinances are designed with the intent of maintaining the standard of living and the aesthetics our residents have come to expect. 

As a general rule, residents are not permitted to store personal property unenclosed outside of their homes. 

Recreational vehicles (boats and campers) are permitted on the driveway during the summer months; however, utility trailers are restricted year round.

The ordinances governing the storage of vehicles and property is outlined below.

670-19 Unenclosed parking or storage of Automobiles, trucks and motorcycles

1. For the purposes of this section, the term 'motor vehicle equipment or accessories' shall include without limitation, snow plowing attachments, cabs for pick-up trucks, motorcycle sidecars, or any like equipment or accessory which can be removed and/or attached to a motor vehicle.

2. Non-garage parking or storage of automobiles, trucks, motorcycles, and motor vehicle equipment or  accessories on residential property in the Village of Fox Point is prohibited, except as expressly permitted  as follows:  Automobiles, trucks and motorcycles, collectively which are licensed, operable and in regular use, the total  of which may not exceed the number of licensed drivers plus one residing at the residence, and which  automobile, truck or motorcycle is regularly used in whole or in part for personal transportation purposes by  a resident.

3. It shall be presumed that any of the following are not in regular use or for the personal transportation  needs of a resident:  

    a. When said vehicle has a tarp or other covering on it for a period of ten days or more,  
    b. When said vehicle is not driven for a period of ten continuous days or more.
    c. When said vehicle is not registered or is not properly licensed.
    d. When said vehicle is not parked on a driveway surface.
    e. Utility type vehicles such as dump trucks, commercial plowing rigs, flatbeds or trucks having a load capacity in excess of 3.5 tons.
    f. Vehicles in non-operable condition.

4. Campers, boats, house trailers and other personal recreational vehicles are subject to regulation under  745-7.

745-7 Unenclosed Storage

(1) No camp, boat, house or other trailer, bus, boat, recreational vehicle, camp trailer on a truck, or truck over 3/4 ton capacity may be stored or parked regularly on a lot in a residence district except within a garage or other enclosed storage structure except as hereinafter set forth:  

     For the period extending from April 15 to October 31 of each year the following type of vehicle may be  parked unenclosed on the driveway of a lot in a residential district provided it is in actual use during such  period and is not merely being stored, and that when parked it is sufficiently far in from the street as to not  interfere with the view of operators of vehicles on the street, or on an adjacent intersecting street:  

    a.  A camp trailer or boat on a trailer, in either case not exceeding 35 feet in length, and designed to be hauled by a passenger automobile,     
    b.  A recreational vehicle not exceeding 35 feet in length,  
    c.  A camp trailer on a pickup truck not exceeding 3/4-ton capacity.

 Open storage of any such vehicle may be permitted at any time with the approval of the Village Manager if such vehicle is effectively shielded from normal observation from the street or adjoining properties by landscaping, walls or fencing, and provided such storage is not between any portion of the building and an abutting street. No such permitted storage shall by reason of the permissive grant have any future claim to legal nonconforming use rights and such permissive grant may be rescinded at any time for due cause.

Parking a vehicle as permitted above or storage as permitted above does not authorize the use of any such trailer, boat or truck for the housing (sleeping and/or eating) therein of any person and such housing is a violation of this ordinance.

(2) Materials, Equipment, Supplies or Waste
Definition: For purposes of this subsection "materials, equipment, supplies or waste" shall mean the following: worn out or discarded material of little or no value, including, but not limited to, household appliances or parts thereof, machinery and equipment or parts thereof, vehicles or parts thereof, tools, iron, chain, brass, copper, tin, lead and other base metals, trailers, farm machinery and equipment or any parts thereof to be junked or demolished, taken apart or destroyed for salvage materials, lumber or building materials; rubbish, ashes, paper, dirt, stones, bricks, tin cans, boxes, barrels or other substances whatsoever, oil, kerosene, benzene, or other similar oil or oily substance, or liquid, wood, brush, and any form of discarded vegetation, yard trimmings, grass clippings, foundry sand and industrial waste of any kind or description, sewerage material removed from septic tanks and drywells used in connection with sewerage disposal systems; or any similar materials which constitute health, fire or safety hazards or which contribute to a blighting influence upon the immediate or surrounding area; or other unsightly debris.

Prohibition; Exceptions. No unenclosed storage of materials, equipment, supplies, or waste shall be permitted where such storage may be viewed from a public street or another property, except as follows:  

A. Firewood.
Firewood may be stored for use on the property as follows. Firewood must be neatly stacked and may not be stacked closer than two (2) feet to any lot line and not higher than six (6) feet from grade,  except adjacent to a fence where firewood can be stacked against the fence as high as the fence.  Fences used in this section shall not include hedges or other vegetation. Notwithstanding the foregoing, wood piles that contain diseased wood that is capable of transmitting disease to healthy trees and woodpiles that harbor or are infested or inhabited by rats or other vermin are public nuisances and may be abated pursuant to the provisions of this Code.

 B. Lawn and Garden Items.
 Lawn and garden items that are in regular seasonal use may be stored outdoors provided they are neatly arranged on the property. Such items may include, but not be limited to: outdoor furniture,  planters, flower pots, and grills.

(3) In the case of such storage related to the construction, remodeling, or repairing of a building on the property, this regulation shall apply to items placed on the property and allowed to remain thereon more than one week prior to the commencement of such operation or more than one week after its completion.