Chapter 5.32
YARD SALES AND GARAGE SALES
Sections:
5.32.020 Restrictions upon advertising yard sales.
5.32.040 Restrictions on yard sales.
5.32.010 Definitions.
“Person” means any individual, household, group, family, entity or association.
“Secondhand dealer” means any person or group who conducts a sale of tangible items of used personal property accumulated or acquired from others for the purpose of resale, and who is not a pawn broker or junk dealer licensed by the town. Regardless of the location of the sales, any person or group who conducts sales more frequently than described in Section 5.32.040 shall be deemed to be a secondhand dealer engaged in business for the purposes of this chapter.
“Sign” means an advertisement for the purpose of attracting public attention or patronage to a yard sale.
“Yard sale” shall mean any sale of used household goods or other items of tangible personal property including, but not limited to, all sales entitled “garage,” “lawn,” “porch,” “flea market,” “estate,” “rummage” or “moving” sale and held on the front or back lawn of a house, out of a house or garage, or on a vacant lot or on other property within the city.
(Ord. No. 567, § 1, 7-2-15).
5.32.020 Restrictions upon advertising yard sales.
A. It shall be unlawful for any person who conducts a yard sale to advertise such sale by posting, placing or in any manner displaying a sign on any utility pole or within any public right-of-way (street or sidewalk) or on any traffic sign or water hydrant or upon property owned by the city.
B. Signs must be freestanding (A-frame, sandwich board, etc.), and may not be affixed to any public structures, utility poles, traffic control devices or trees, and may not obstruct vehicular or pedestrian movement or visibility, or pose a safety hazard. Signs posted on private property must have the owner’s permission. Yard sale signs shall not be posted more than forty-eight hours prior to the time of the sale and shall be removed within six hours after the close of the sale.
C. Signs displayed in violation of these regulations may be confiscated by the city of Mattawa, and/or the person responsible for the violation may be cited.
(Ord. No. 567, § 1, 7-2-15).
5.32.030 Permit required.
No yard sale may be conducted without a valid permit previously issued by the city. No permit may be issued except after written application has been submitted to the city, which shall include the true name of the applicant and the date(s) and proposed location of the sale. No fee shall be charged for the application or the permit. All permits shall be issued in writing on a form that includes, in English and in Spanish, a notice that signs advertising the sale shall not be attached to any utility pole or placed within any public right-of-way (street or sidewalk), or on any traffic sign or water hydrant, and that all such signs must be removed within six hours after the last day of the permitted sale. The permit shall also give notice of the maximum penalty for each violation of the yard sale ordinances set forth in this chapter. A copy of this chapter shall be attached to each permit. Said permit must be conspicuously displayed at the sale site at all times during the sale. All permits shall be nontransferable. The permit required under this chapter is separate from and in addition to the business license issued under Chapter 5.04, which may also be required when applicable.
(Ord. No. 642, § 1, 12-17-20; Ord. No. 567, § 1, 7-2-15).
5.32.040 Restrictions on yard sales.
No person or parcel shall conduct more than five yard sales each calendar year. No such sale shall last more than three successive days, and each yard sale shall be held at least thirty days apart. No such sale shall commence sooner than eight a.m. or terminate later than eight p.m. each day of the sale.
Yard sales permitted by this chapter shall be conducted in an orderly manner and shall not constitute a public nuisance or hazard to persons or property. All debris from any yard sale must be removed from any public property or right-of-way immediately following the sale.
All merchandise offered for sale at a yard sale shall be arranged so that fire, police, health or other officials may have access for inspection at all times during the sale.
No individual or group shall engage in business as a secondhand dealer in the city unless that individual is the holder of a valid and current license issued by the city. All sales by secondhand dealers must take place on properly zoned property.
Goods or merchandise offered for sale at such sales must consist of goods or merchandise owned by the individual(s) conducting the sales, and shall be of a type and quantity usually found within a residential setting. No goods or merchandise may be brought to and/or sold from the site of such sales which have been purchased or acquired from another source for the purpose of resale at the site of such sales event. Conducting business as a secondhand dealer for the resale of new or used goods or merchandise on a residential premises is a violation of this chapter. All goods or merchandise shall not be visible from the street forty-eight hours after the end of the sale. Goods displayed at any such sale shall not be displayed in the public right-of-way.
(Ord. No. 567, § 1, 7-2-15).
5.32.050 Violation—Penalty.
Failure to perform any act required by this chapter, or the performance of any act prohibited by this chapter, is designated as a civil infraction.
Any violation of this chapter shall be punishable as follows:
A. On the first offense, by a written warning, no fine shall be levied;
B. Upon second and subsequent offenses, by a fine not to exceed three hundred dollars for each offense;
C. Each day of violation hereof may be considered a separate offense.
(Ord. No. 567, § 1, 7-2-15).