T-L Photo/CARRI GRAHAM Police Chief Dick Flanagan talks about the village’s new ordinance that states trailers will now be fined or towed if parked along the public roads. He said they will give residents two weeks to remove the vehicles prior to fining them.

BELLAIRE – Trailers parked along the roadways in Bellaire are now subject to fines and towing, though village officials said they will allow a two-week grace period until fully enacting the new ordinance.

The third reading of an ordinance regarding the regulation of fines and towing for trailers left on public streets was conducted during Thursday’s Bellaire Village Council meeting. After some discussion about the ordinance number, Councilman Jerry Fisher made a motion to pass the legislation. It was unanimously approved by council.

Councilman Jerry Olack noted that the ordinance has been in the works for a “long time” and has encountered a number of changes. He said there are trailers everywhere throughout the village.

Police Chief Dick Flanagan then explained the legislation further and what it will entail.

“Basically in short, it’s utility trailers, motorcycle trailers, car trailers, boat haulers. It’s the definition of what a trailer is. It can’t be parked out on the public street,” he said.

Flanagan said they are going to give residents at least two weeks to move the trailers from the public streets onto their own property or storage facility.

“But in two weeks, we’re going to start towing trailers,” he said.

Flanagan said there is an array of trailers parked all along the streets.

In response to a question posed by Councilwoman Janet Richardson, Flanagan said the ordinance will apply to tractor-trailers that are not hooked up to the tractor unit.

After the meeting, Mayor Ed Marling said the fine amounts will vary. He said in the first instance of a trailer being parked on a village street, a person could be fined $40; however, it will increase with the second and third offenses.