For six years, Devin Reed, a resident of Victoria Island, parked his flatbed trailer in the old lagoon area of Bellevue Island. He was told by Lake Orion Village Council members on Feb. 9 that he won’t be able to do it anymore.
According to Reed, he uses the trailer everyday in his business and it would be too costly and possibly too time consuming to park in a lot somewhere else.
‘For eight months the trailer goes with me every day and in the winter I store it at a friend’s,? he added.
‘That area is deed restricted to be used for parking purposes only,? LO Village Manager JoAnn Van Tassel said. ‘It’s intended for the use of residents in the area. It’s not to be used for the storage of boat trailers, campers and/or other trailers.?
Council members in 1996 passed a parking regulation ordinance that placed restrictions on a vacant area in the middle of the island that once had been a lagoon that was filled in.
The passing of the ordinance was prompted by the many boat trailers being stored there for long periods of time.
Reed said during the early years of parking his trailer in the parking area he received three tickets because the trailer was disconnected from his vehicle for a short period of time.
‘I was told if the trailer was hooked up (to his vehicle), it would be OK,? he added.
For a while there weren’t any problems. Then the police department was contacted several months ago by a resident regarding a utility trailer parked in the area.
Since then Reed’s trailer has been ticketed three times and in December was impounded. ‘I found my trailer gone when I came back from vacation,? he added.
According to LO Police Chief Jerry Narsh, the officer who gave Reed the tickets indicated each time the trailer was unhooked from Reed’s truck.
Reed disputes Narsh’s statement and said the trailer wasn’t disconnected.
Village council members were informed by the village attorney, who reviewed the ordinance, that Reed was in violation of the law and wouldn’t be able to park his trailer in the parking area, hooked or unhooked.