Community shows up for wrecker storage discussion with city

A crowd filled The Yards of Cameron on Monday night, Aug. 3, in support of several local businesses that an amended ordinance could possibly effect if passed by the Cameron City Council.

The amendment addressed wrecker storage yards within the city, making an amendment to the current zoning ordinance allowing for a business in Cameron to continue operating.

“I appreciate everyone being here and it is important that we understand this,” Cameron Mayor Bill Harris. “This council wants to be transparent. This ordinance was designed for a specific business that has a service that picks up junk cars and salvage property. He picks up for the City of Cameron.”

Harris said the council met some months ago and decided that this business, which is owned by Jackie Rothe, is important for the city.

“When it was brought to our attention that the city didn’t have an ordinance covering this and he couldn’t operate legally in the city, the council decided that for him to stay here and operate we contacted the city attorney to write this ordinance,” he said. “That is what we are here for tonight, so that he can be legal to operate. He has been operating in this community for about 13 years. Sometimes we overlook things and people offer a service and someone will bring it to our attention that it is not legal and we try to clean it up.”

Harris said there was discussion in the community that this ordinance would pull other businesses into it, including his own business Cameron Tire Store. He said he didn’t think it was intentional that those businesses were involved and it wouldn’t affect them.

Several Cameron residents spoke during the citizen’s comment portion of the meeting and on the topic itself before the council passed the amendment that will now allow the business to continue operating.

Tommy Harris with Cameron Tire Store asked several questions during citizen’s comments.

“My simple questions are who does this apply to, will we have to apply for special permits to have our business, will it need to be renewed every year, what does it cost,” Tommy Harris said. “What if we are looking down the road at an unfriendly council who isn’t happy with what we do? There are a lot of us that are kind of concerned by this ordinance. I’m just curious what the interpretation of this ordinance will be. We are talking about our livelihood and those of our employees.”

Wendell Cryer with C&W Auto addressed the same topics also asking who approves permits and what the cost will be for those permits. He also asked for a definition of wrecker/salvage yard.

“The only thing I have to say is these businesses – C&W, Cameron Tire, Don’s – have been around here for years and people depend on them for everything,” Jerry Lawler asked. “They help us so much with donations for organizations and the fire department. These businesses are important for employment and services that they provide. They have firemen that work there and they let them go to fires.”

The council then took up the topic as an agenda item.

City Attorney Art Rodriguez and Cameron Planning and Zoning Commissioner member Nathan Fuchs gave clarification on the intent of the ordinance.

“Right now we have a zoning ordinance in the city that is extremely old,” Rodriguez said.  “The way that it works is that there was a gap in the ordinance where a current operator was operating a business that technically was outside the zoning authority.” 

Zoning ordinances allow a city to regulate different uses in a town. They keep residents and businesses from being next to something you might not want to be next to. It says this area of town will be used for this specific use.

“At that time there was a gap that needed to be filled,” Rodriguez said. “My conversation with the mayor was that we need to fill that gap. We need to correct the ordinance to allow the use or take action because he is operating outside our zoning ordinance. At no time did the mayor say we want to prevent the use. In fact it was do what we need to do to allow the use, which is what this ordinance accomplishes.”

The ordinance states that a wrecker storage yard is any lot on which three or more motor vehicles of any kind which are incapable of being operated have been placed on for the purpose of storage. Dismantling or resale should only be allowed if incidental to the operation of the wrecker storage yard.

“In my understanding that is what this is trying to allow,” Rodriguez said.

Councilmember Kyle Deal made the motion to pass the ordinance.

“I have been listening to a lot of posts on Facebook and listening here tonight and if we as a council are here to serve you, which I believe we 100 percent are,” Deal said. “I am here to serve the community and do what is right. I fully believe that the amended ordinance is correct. We need to grandfather all these current businesses and move forward after tonight. Or if it is going to have to go to a special permit should those businesses be charged.”

Cameron’s current zoning ordinance was passed in 1986 and at that time there was not a portion that would allow a wrecker/storage yard to operate in the city limits.

“I know we have to make changes” Deal said. “We are trying to do what is best. This all came out backwards but we are trying to do what is best.”

Code Enforcement Officer Rene Sapp asked that there be clarification that if they city goes with grandfathering any existing uses they make sure they are grandfathering the property, not the business. Deal said that would be the correct use.

Fuchs spoke to clarify the intent the planning and zoning commission had when the original topic was brought to their attention.

“I think there is a little confusion,” Fuchs said. “I am on the planning and zoning commission and I think there is confusion as to who this applies to. I think we need some clarification. When it first came to us it was technically about one business it was about the use in general, but because there was one business we were able to address it in that one particular business. In no way was this initiated with anything to do with C&W or Cameron Tire or the others. My understanding of the zoning ordinances is that you have a primary use.”

Fuchs said that Cameron Tire, as an example, has a primary use as an auto repair shop and that incidental to that he may store cars. That doesn’t mean that business is now identified as a wrecker storage yard.

“There is some confusion here that this would somehow affect Cameron Tire Store, C&W and some others and my understanding was that is not the case,” he said. “If we really got down to it there is one business in town that does this and that is Jackie and the others this would not apply to. This ordinance doesn’t apply to any of those businesses.” 

Fuchs said what is important here is that at some point someone came to the city and said Jackie is doing something that is against city ordinance and that when that happened Rodriguez came to the city and said we have to figure it out. 

“We shut it down or we come up with a solution,” Fuchs said. “Without a doubt, Mayor Anderle came to us and said that we needed to figure it out and that is what we did.”

Mayor Harris said the city doesn’t feel like Jackie? Needs to pay for a permit to continue operating.

“We feel he needs to apply for the permit and get it and just keep on going,” Harris said. “I have talked to Jackie several times and what we are trying to do is to make sure that he is operating correctly. The ordinance wouldn’t allow it. For a long time he was operating and no one had anything to say about it. It was out of the city’s ignorance and everyone’s ignorance that is was happening. But now we are aware of it and we are trying to correct it.”

The council passed the ordinance.

In other business the council also took up the topic of food truck operations within the city.

Jamie Galvan with Hecho En Texas requested the city amend the requirements for food trucks to be removed from the property the are operating on by 8:30 p.m. each day. 

Galvan has plans to move his business to a permanent location that he has purchases and would like to not have that stipulation on him.

“I am purchasing land and will leave my truck there,” he said. “I am asking that we amend the ordinance to give the city manager to give permission to leave the truck there all the time, which you have granted. I would also like to not have to come back every year and renew that, because what is to say that a new city manager won’t be able to say that I can’t be there. I am just looking for something permanent.”

Council passed the amendment saying that the city manager can approve the request to leave the truck in a permanent spot, and agreed to look into how they can give Galvan something more permanent that will be addressed at a future meeting.

The council also approved the Parks and Recreation Master Park Plan. 

During discussion of this topic Clementine Raye and Councilmember Virgie Hardeman discussed the actual land that is though of as 12th Street Park, saying that the four acres identified in the plan are not all that the black community has know as 12th Street Park.