Summerville considers cutting down on yard sales

Summerville Town Council heard a proposal Wednesday night to create a local ordinance that will help authorities enforce state regulations on yard sales.

There would be a limit of one yardsale per household every 3 months; no two-day yard sales; no multi-family yard sales; and you can only sell your own items.  The town wants to stop “junkers” from accumulating things that they re-sell on a regular basis.

There are already South Carolina state regulations that mirror this proposal, but the Summerville Director of Planning and Economic Development Charlie Miller says authorities need more enforcement capabilities beyond the town’s one code enforcement official.

Miller forsees the new ordinance really only applying to people who turn their yard into a weekly flea market, but many residents question whether this is necessary at all.

Roy Atwell and Kim Nolan who both live in the Corey Woods subdivision say their neighborhood is full of yard sales but they don’t see the problem.

Nolan says the traffic can become heavy for a couple hours on Saturday mornings but she’s used yard sales for extra money to buy her kids new clothes.

Atwell says yard sales are as “American as Applepie” so the town should back off.

At the Summerville Town Council meeting Wednesday night members voted to table the proposal.  They want to hear what people have to say at a Planning Comission public hearing Thursday night.