HOWELL — Following a request from the police department, members of the Township Council are considering a change to an ordinance that regulates the parking of trailers on municipal roads.

However, the measure is expected to be a hot-button issue for the governing body.

Township Manager Bruce Davis told Mayor Timothy J. Konopka and council members at a recent workshop meeting that "this may cause controversy and have an impact throughout town."

The proposed amendment would not only impact trailers, but boats, trucks and similar vehicles. The proposal follows a May request from Howell Traffic Safety Officer Matthew Bishop to Davis.

According to Bishop, he has received complaints about a landscape trailer that has been parked in front of a Plymouth Drive residence and about a 30-foot long boat on a trailer that has been parked on Starlight Road.

In the case of the landscape trailer on Plymouth Drive, Bishop notes that the vehicle has been parked there "constantly" for two years and although it is parked facing the right direction, he says it "does pose a hazard and is unsightly."

Bishop notes that even though a vehicle may be properly registered and insured, that does not mitigate the problems presented when it is parked on the street.

In a memo, Bishop says he is requesting the amendment to the ordinance because the location of these oversized vehicles on Howell’s roads is proving to be a nuisance for some people and a potential safety hazard for motorists.

According to Bishop, the current wording of the ordinance governing the parking of such vehicles states that "no person shall park a trailer ... of any kind on any street of the township between the hours of 8 p.m. and 8 a.m." and that "residents are allowed to use the street to park their boats, jet skis, landscaping trailers and the like during the day."

Bishop said this usually results in the trailers remaining parked in the street at all times.

He said police officers working the day shift can only act to remove the trailers between 6-8 a.m. and that officers working the evening shift can only act after 8 p.m.

Bishop told Davis in the memo, "A residential street is no place for a 30-foot long boat. If a landscaper must bring their trailer home at the end of the work day, they need to park it on their property, not in the public road."

However, a past case generated by a neighbor’s complaint resulted in municipal summonses being is­sued and a landscaper being pro­hibited by township code enforce­ment officials from keeping busi­ness trucks or equipment at his res­idence.

Bishop told Davis he would like to see an ordinance developed that bans the parking or storage of any trailers on any road in Howell. He said the only exception should be contractors who are doing work at a resident’s home or business be­tween 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.

According to Bishop, "The park­ing prohibition of trailers would make the roads safer and keep our neighborhoods cleaner."

The ordinance amendment is scheduled for introduction on July 20. A public hearing, second read­ing and adoption is scheduled for Aug. 17.