Pima may ease up on so-called junk cars

Where Pima County code inspectors once sided with the former, they soon could side with the latter.

Pima County is considering changing the rules on inoperable vehicles, allowing property owners to repair their own cars and store inoperable vehicles indefinitely, provided they are screened from neighboring properties.

The existing ordinance doesn't allow any auto repair in a residential area or any storage of an inoperable vehicle.

County officials and car hobbyists say the new ordinance will be fairer and more enforceable than the existing ordinance.

But some neighborhood activists say it contains a loophole large enough to drive a dozen junk cars through. The ordinance doesn't distinguish between vehicles that are awaiting repairs and vehicles that are just trash.

County officials said such distinctions aren't enforceable.

"One man's junk is another man's treasure," said Greg Hitt, Pima County's principal planner. "To the inspector, it could be junk, but to the owner, it could be a parts car with a lot of value."

That's why the draft ordinance instead focuses on the number of vehicles allowed and how they're stored.

The Pima County Board of Supervisors will discuss the proposed changes today. If it adopts the proposal as a new ordinance, it will go into effect in 30 days.

The regulations would apply only in unincorporated Pima County. Tucson already has its own regulations limiting the storage of vehicles in residential zones.

The proposed changes are the result of almost a year of work by a committee composed of neighborhood activists and car hobbyists.

Judith Meyer, a board member of the Tucson Mountain Association, said that process led to a "slight disaster." She said the ordinance needs to distinguish between vehicles that will eventually be repaired and junk cars.

Meyer said that if the ordinance passes, anyone could keep a junk car and claim it's a parts car. And to her mind, the screening requirement doesn't remove the eyesore.

"Think about dotting all of Pima County with this ugly slotted fencing," she said. "This is not the dainty aesthetics of people who live up in the Foothills. A lot of people in Tucson Mountain Association are struggling and have their life savings tied up in their homes.

"You're taking away their dreams so a few hobbyists can do whatever they want," she added.

Rita Hall, a committee member who lives on the Northwest Side, said passing the new ordinance would be better than nothing, but she'd also rather have a definition of junk cars.

"We never addressed the actual problem," she said. "We don't want junk vehicles. There shouldn't be even one."

Ironically, Hall would need to put up screening around one of her cars to comply with the ordinance. She can't afford to get the car fixed yet, and while it has plates now, she doesn't think she'll be able to renew the registration because she can't drive the car to the emissions test.

The committee worked out a definition of inoperable vehicles and junk cars, but county officials said it was too subjective.

Sam Ray, an auto enthusiast who served on the committee, said that was the right decision.

"Let's say I have a car and I buy a parts car," he said. "That thing is never going to ride, but it's valuable to me."

Diana Boros, a neighborhood activist from the Northwest Side, said the screening requirements would encourage people to get rid of cars they aren't using, rather than pay to screen them.

Milton Schick said the old ordinance is too Draconian. Schick has worked on cars since he was 12 years old and has four 1960s-era Oldsmobiles that he restored.

"Working within the ordinance, it gives room for leeway and lays out the steps to follow," he said.