City seeks to regulate storage containers on lawns

By Neil Schulman
Long Branch — The city will be tightening its monitoring of long term storage containers, following complaints that they are an eyesore if left on front lawns too long.
At the Nov. 22 City Council workshop, Code Enforcement Officer Kevin Hayes said the city would be enforcing current ordinances, and suggested council introduce a new ordinance for these storage units.
PODS is one of the most recognized brand names of these units, which people rent for long term storage and moving, but there are many other companies with similar products. And there are laws on the books on using them.
“Right now, we treat them as temporary structures, and we do require a permit,” Hayes said.
Like all temporary structures, it must comply with certain city regulations, such as the distance set back from the curb.
However, not everyone gets a permit. On one block, there were six units in a row, and only one home had gotten a permit.
Permits are good for six months, after which the city will review them and determine if there’s a legitimate reason to keep them around. In that block’s case, the lot which had a permit was using it to store goods from a home damaged in a fire, a use Hayes said was likely to be approved for a time extension. Similarly, if a new home was being built and the project was taking longer than expected, the city would likely approve an extension request.
In those cases, the city would still prefer that they weren’t kept in the front yard.
“If they need it more than six months, we’re encouraging them to move it into their back yard,” he said.
But other people were installing them because they were “short a room,” effectively using it as a trailer to store things on their front lawn, Hayes said. The city doesn’t want to allow that as a long term use.
Hayes said that his office has been notifying properties which don’t have the permit. The permits cost about $40, he said, and are required for structures that stay on the property more than two weeks.

Originally published Dec. 12, 2011