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Yard sales bring citations to some Photo by Steve Johnson Central Point requires permits for yard and garage sales, but Mary Sinclair, left, didn't take the time to get a permit before she and her partners held their sale on Looking Glass Way in Central Point last week. Here she helps customer Steve Lamb. Cities employ different rules to regulate sales By SARA MURPHY A bout of sunny spring whether has folks across the Rogue Valley straightening up shelves and storage units, getting rid of all that stuff they just don't need. The result: weekend epidemics of yard and garage sales, a warm-weather wealth of bargain hunting and hand-me-down hocking, an informal industry fueled by treasure-seekers looking to pay next to nothing and miscellany merchants hoping to make a few bucks. Pardon me, ma'am, do you have a permit for that? "No!" says Kathy Anderson, who hosted a sale from her Central Point driveway last week. "I didn't even know you needed one,' adds her co-vendor, Brenda Williams. "Is this some sort of Candid Camera thing?" It's no joke. Central Point and several other local cities require residents to obtain yard sale permits before they open shop on the front lawn or garage. And that's not all: Most localities also limit residents to hosting three sales a year. Advertising on telephone poles and sign posts is a rather universal no-no. "I know you're not supposed to nail signs to telephone poles," Anderson says. "I just wired them up to the sign posts so I can go around and take them down." Whether people wire, tape or nail doesn't matter, says Ron Barnett, Central Point code enforcement officer. It's all against the rules. "If people will pull the signs down after they're done, there probably wouldn't ever be too much said," Barnett says. "But if somebody leaves one up with their address on it, they're pretty easy to find." As part of his warm-day duties, Barnett sometimes patrols the city's streets to check up on whether patio peddlers have purchased their permits, which cost $1 at City Hall. "We're just trying to keep track of what's going on," Barnett says. "A dollar doesn't even cover the paperwork." The city isn't trying to regulate the average rummage sale, Barnett says. "The reason we do try to keep a lid on it is because we have a few people who want to make a business out of it," he explains. Barnett says he cited four or five people last year for failing to follow the rules. Each of them, he says, were repeat offenders -- folks who'd been warned about the consequences of excessive sidewalk sales. "We're not here to try to punish people or make money off the garage sales," Barnett says. The first citation carries a $25 fine. According to city code, Central Point residents can host up to three sales in a 12-month period. Permits are valid for three consecutive days. Jacksonville also requires permits; they're free and limited to three per year. Ashland doesn't limit yard sales, unless neighbors complain about chronic commerce. Medford residents don't need permits, but they are limited to three sales per year, says Jim Maize, senior planner. Each sale can last two days, with business hours between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. "Most people abide by the rules,' Maize says. "Every once in awhile somebody takes advantage of their privileges, but it's not the rule." Both Medford and Central Point discourage driveway dealers from buying items with the intent of selling them from the garage. "What we don't want is for someone to back up a truckload of merchandise that they've purchased from wholesalers in California and sell it out the back of a truck in somebody's driveway," Maize says. Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA