OOIDA Call to Action Alert - Washington members
May 8, 2009

Heads Up, Washington State truckers!

Do you pick-up or deliver in Sumner, WA?  Do you live in Sumner?  If you answered yes to either question, you need to know about a hearing scheduled for May 18 at the Sumner City Hall.

On March 23, 2009, the Sumner City Council adopted Ordinance 2286 establishing interim development regulations adopting a new definition of “private off-street parking lot.”  The definition has been amended to clarify that all private off-street parking lots be for non-commercial vehicles only. 

Ordinance 2286 was adopted to address concerns that lack of a clear definition of “private off-street parking lots” was creating unintended opportunity for the parking of commercial vehicles – especially overnight and long-term parking of those vehicles. The City believes this “unintended” trucking parking will produce negative effects including increased traffic, noise, dust, air pollution, light and glare, and “illegal activities potentially associated with this type of truck parking,” as well as negative aesthetic impacts.

What this means for area truckers is that you will likely have a difficult time trying to park your truck to make area pick-ups and deliveries. And don’t even think about stopping for food or anything else. How absurd!

A hearing will take place on May 18, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. at Sumner City Hall, 1104 Maple Street, Sumner, WA.  At this meeting, the Council will hear from citizens about the new ordinance. You should make an effort to attend the hearing and speak up about the need for truck parking.  Also, you should let trucker-friendly businesses in the area know about this meeting (fuel stops, restaurants, warehouses, etc.).  They will have a vested interest in any truck parking prohibition.

If you can’t attend the meeting but would like to submit written comments, you can mail those comments to Sumner City Council, Attn:  Paul Rogerson, 1104 Maple St., Sumner, WA 98390.  You may also email the comments to Mr. Rogerson at paulr@ci.sumner.wa.us.  The telephone number for Mr. Rogerson is (253) 299-5521.

Thank you!