A Message from the Mayor - Local Law 2 and Car Sales
Published on 15 February 2016
There seems to be some confusion in our community about the recent changes to Local Law 2 and what this means for people trying to sell their cars privately, so I thought I’d clarify the changes or more importantly, the lack of changes to this law.
Local Law 2 has been in place for over ten years and at our last Council meeting, an alteration to clearly define the sale of “goods” on roadsides to include vehicles was adopted. The fact is, vehicles have always been included in this local law but we made the amendment to come into line with standard wording used by other Victorian Councils and to clear up any misunderstandings around the definition of “goods”.
In affect this is not a new law at all – just a clearer definition.
In the past, Council has received numerous complaints, primarily from homeowners and businesses, about people were leaving cars unattended for long periods in front of their properties. In some cases, the cars were effectively dumped and left in one spot on the roadside for days, even weeks at a time.
Local Law 2 prohibits this practice.
Most people trying to sell a vehicle will not be affected. It’s important to note this doesn’t stop people from having “For Sale” signs on their cars and going about their normal daily business. Nor does it stop people from parking their cars out the front of their own homes or businesses. It will only affect people who leave their cars unattended on roadsides or in front of other people’s businesses or homes for extended periods. It also affects cars that are parked illegally.
For example, it’s not ok to pull your car up in front of Centro on Fifteenth Street at 8am on Saturday morning, lock it up and leave it there for the weekend, only returning Sunday evening to move it. Similarly it’s not ok to park your car on the highway at Red Cliffs near Quandong Park and leave it there for days at a time.
It is ok however to park your car in front of your own property, to park down the street for two hours while you go shopping or out for lunch, or to park in an all-day car park while you’re at work.
So how will this work? Generally Council Local Laws officers will only be attending instances where a home owner or business has raised an issue or made a complaint. The car owner will, in the first instance, be issued a warning letter. Fines will only follow if the car is not removed or is found carrying out the same practice elsewhere.
And yes – this law affects car yards too. The fact is that car dealers have never been allowed to park their cars on roadsides or on Council property, including nature strips and most car businesses are aware of this and generally will do the right thing.
Also remember that it has always been illegal to sell goods, including vehicles on Crown Land.
Hopefully this clears up the confusion, but if you are unsure, please do not hesitate to give our Local Laws staff a call on (03) 5018 8100 and talk through your concerns.
Cr Glenn Milne
Mayor