Gerald’s Planning and Zoning Commission has spent months working on recommendations for a proposed ordinance restricting shipping containers in most areas of town. The Board of Alderman working in conjunction with Kevin Richardson, city attorney, fine tuned the recommendations into a draft city ordinance. This ordinance should be ready to pass into law at the Aug. 13 board meeting.

The ordinance will define shipping containers as railroad cars, cargo containers,trucks, vans, busses, RVs and other items originally built for purposes other than storage of goods.

These containers will be banned in all residential areas. Commercial/business properties will be allowed one such container if a permit is obtained. The permit will allow the containers on the property for one year.

Property with Industrial or Agricultural zoning are permitted to place a limited number of such containers.

Containers in any zone are subject to setback limitations, inspection of contents and must be equipped with a safety device to allow for escape from the interior of the container. All containers will require a permit that will be renewable annually in most cases.

In addition, the containers cannot be used for advertising and must be properly maintained.

Residential property owners who currently have such containers placed will be notified they have 120 days to remove them.

Temporary permits can be issued for such containers to be used in residential areas for demolition, construction or moving purposes.

Attorney Richardson says currently the city codes do not allow shipping containers to be placed anywhere in the city. The new ordinance should clear up any lingering concerns and allow the city to take definitive action on the placement of the containers.

Once the ordinance has been approved, the full document can be viewed on the city’s website, geraldmo.com. Then click on the government tab/code compliance/ordinances/e-code. There you find the complete package of city codes.