Knox City Council Members Start Process to Revamp Side Walk Obstruction Ordinance

Knox City Council members reviewed changes to the city’s sidewalk obstruction ordinance when they met Tuesday night.

Mayor Dennis Estok stated that no official action would be taken on the ordinance last night, but he wanted to submit it to council members prior to first reading incase they had any suggestions.

Issues with vehicles parking on sidewalks and large vehicles blocking the roadways have been brought up as council items during various meetings over the past few months. Councilman Jeff Berg recently showed fellow members that a sidewalk obstruction ordinance is on the books for the City of Knox.

However, the ordinance only covered structures and didn’t directly address vehicles. Council members agreed to amend the existing ordinance to cover the topics that have been discussed.

Clerk-Treasurer Jeff Houston mentioned that they built onto the existing ordinance and included some things that are covered in the state statute. He explained that the state’s regulations include larger fines so they just borrowed some concepts and adapted the fines to be more realistic for the city’s residents.

The ordinance includes four sections; section one covers definitions, section two deals with the placement of structures, section three talks about unobstructed passage of vehicles and clear view of stopped vehicles, and section four specifically addresses the placement of vehicles. Individuals who violate any section of the ordinance would be subject to a $100 fine for each occurrence.

Council members had no additional comments about the ordinance. Mayor Estok said an official first reading will be held at the next city council meeting at the end of the month.