By John Howell Sr.

Batesville aldermen on Tuesday adopted an ordinance regulating the display and sale of vehicles on public and private property in the city.

Work on the ordinance began in February when representatives of three licensed car sales lots appealed to the mayor and aldermen to restrict the vehicle sales from parking lots along roadsides. Proponents of the ordinance said that out-of-town auto wholesalers were taking advantage of Batesville’s lack of regulation to sell to individual buyers at retail. Such sales exclude the city from collecting its portion of the five percent sales tax generated by vehicle transactions, E-Z Auto Sales owner Boyce Crowell told city officials at their February 1 meeting. Crowell was accompanied by Keith Goodwin of Stanley’s Used Cars and Johnny Rudd of Wheel Center LLC.

The language of the new ordinance also cites the need “to preserve the appearance and atmosphere of the City and its neighborhoods and the orderly conduct of commerce.”

 Among opponents of the ordinance was Woody Loden, who attended the Feb. 15 meeting of the mayor and aldermen to voice his concern about the parking lot space he rents to individuals at his Midtown Market Shopping Center. Loden told the city officials that he does not allow dealer owned cars to be displayed.

Discussion of the ordinance continued from meeting to meeting through March and April before Tuesday’s unanimous vote to adopt a revised version that will require vehicle sellers to buy a $50 permit from the city. Sellers must show proof of ownership, current tag and inspection sticker and the property owner’s permission to sell the vehicle on the property. The permit is good for 30 days.

The ordinance does not apply to:

•The sale of a vehicle at a family residence when the vehicle belongs to the occupant;

•A vehicle with a “For Sale” sign “being driven and parked in the City in the usual and customary course of use …”

•A person holding a valid privilege license for the retail sale of vehicles;

•The sale of vehicles “incidental to the primary purpose of conducting the business for which such person holds a valid license,” a measure to allow banks and finance companies to sell repossessions.

Additional language in the ordinance specifies that autos, trucks, recreational vehicles, motorcycles, four-wheelers, trailers and jet skis are included.

Fines start at $500 with each day’s violation considered a separate offense, according to the ordinance.

The city officials also agreed to change the city’s zoning code to require owners of commercial property zoned C-2 to obtain a conditional use permit for the sale of vehicles on their property.

The conditional use permit will cost $100, City Code Administrator Pam Comer said.