PARKERSBURG - Rector Road neighbors took complaints regarding ongoing yard sales on property at 907 Rector Road to the Wood County Commission.
The county does not have a yard sale ordinance or countywide zoning. But the state does have regulations regarding yard sales, if no other ordinances apply, and county officials said there may be health department regulations or county salvage yard ordinance regulations being violated in addition to questions from state tax officials about whether the ongoing yard sales constitute a business.
John Reed, county compliance officer, told commissioners initially he went to the property, which is now owned by Ernest Allen, because there was a non-residence trailer placed on the property and the owner did not have a building permit.
"We first received a complaint back in April regarding the property which is located off Rosemar Road on Rector Road, and was purchased by Mr. Ernest Allen. It's an empty lot with a garage, and he moved a trailer out there. We asked him to get a building permit, which he immediately did. The file was closed, then neighbors complained he put a second trailer out there which was allegedly being used to store salvaged materials sold at frequent yard sales. I advised Mr. Allen a second trailer constitutes a mobile home park, which would require a permit and permission from the health department," Reed said. Upon request, the second trailer was removed in a timely manner.
"West Virginia statute states you can only have a yard sale at your residence, unless he obtains a permit to operate as a business. No one lives on this property. If he is selling junked vehicles, or salvaged appliances, he has to have a salvage yard permit and permit from the Department of Highways. In the meantime, an official with the state tax office visited the site and said you can only have four yard sales a year, but he can apply for a business license, and he would be required to pay taxes," Reed said.
According to state tax department regulations, sales of tangible personal property may be made at yard sales without collecting sales tax provided such sales are held no more than four times per year and last no longer than 48 hours each. Persons who regularly and routinely sell goods at yard sales, flea markets or along the roadside are engaging in the business of selling. They must register with the State Tax Department and collect sales tax on such sales. Persons who are not engaged in the business of providing taxable serves may also qualify for this exemption.
"I don't understand, if there is no ordinance, why is there such a fuss being raised? We are not running a salvage yard, there are no junked vehicles, no junk being sold," said Glen Allen, Ernest Allen's son. "I don't see what it hurts for us to have a sale on property that belongs to us, when there is apparently no ordinance prohibiting it. There doesn't seem to be any state or county ordinance against us having a sale, so you just have neighbor complaints. I want to see the law that keeps us from doing this," Glen Allen said.
"The county does have a salvage yard ordinance," said commission President Rick Modesitt. If the county doesn't have an ordinance that applies in other cases, state law, or legislative rule would apply, he noted.
"If it's an ongoing operation and you are engaged in it for a profit, that constitute running a business," said Commissioner Blair Couch.
Gilbert Atkinson, and his wife Monica and another neighbor, Rickey Atkinson told commissioners there are safety issues with people parking along the road, there is no septic system on the property, and they are concerned about the ongoing yard sales' affect on property values.
"People are parking on a single lane road, you can't see over the hill, there have been a lot of accidents in that area as it is, this just creates more of a safety issue," Gilbert Atkinson said.
"We are trying to comply with everything, we told people not to park on the road," Glen Allen said.
"Everyone has built nice homes out there, it's a nice area, there is no septic on this lot. We've seen everything imaginable coming in, being hauled in. Every other weekend they camp out there and have these sales,and there's a traffic on the road, it's like a flea market business, we are concerned about our property values. We just don't want a flea market next to us, devaluing our property," Monica Atkinson said.
County commissioners continued the matter to 11 a.m. Monday when the county officials plan to visit the property.
