2 weeks Ago By Teresa Mettela
A FUMING woman has called on county officials to remove a boat that’s been parked outside her house for a year.After numerous calls to 311, the woman filed a complaint with the city council in a desperate attempt to get rid of the abandoned boat.NBC WashingtonA Prince George’s County resident, Connie Boddie, complained about a boat that was abandoned on her neighborhood street[/caption]NBC WashingtonShe said the boat had been parked there for over a year[/caption]NBC WashingtonCouncil member Eric Olson drafted a bill that bans boat parking on public streets[/caption]Connie Boddie has resided in Prince George’s County for over 30 years, but has witnessed a frustrating development in her neighborhood.
She noticed that someone had illegally parked a boat in her neighborhood for more than a year without moving it at all, as reported by the NBC News affiliate WRC-TV. “It was very distracting,” said Connie Boddie. “I just got really upset about it because it wasn’t supposed to be there.
”In the three decades Boddie has lived on this block, she has never encountered this problem until a year ago when the boat showed up. Initially, Boddie and a bunch of her neighbors called 311 for help, filing many complaints with no results. After many phone calls, Boddie decided to go to the Prince George’s County council to get a resolution.
She’s finally getting results after a year of back and forth. With the help of a city council member, Boddie has gotten the council to ban boat parking on local streets. She claimed the entire neighborhood wanted to see the boat gone.
Kingswood neighbors would shout at local police officers, asking when they planned on getting rid of the boat. “Everyone wanted that boat gone,” she said. Boddie said the owner doesn’t live in the neighborhood, but would make visits to check on his boat.
“He said he wanted to keep the boat and preserve it because it was his father’s,” she said. Prince George's County Boating Bill“The County Council has received reports that boats have been parked and sometimes abandoned on public County streets, roads, highways, and rights-of-way due to the lack of prohibition in the County Code. Boats, particularly those parked on trailers, are larger and taller than typical vehicles.
These watercraft create potential hazards by obstructing traffic or by obstructing traffic site lines. This bill will aim to prohibit watercraft from being parked on public streets, roads, highways, and rights of way by issuing a fine to the owner for every twenty four (24) hours the boat remains in violation.This bill will also permit the tow and impoundment of watercraft that either failed to be moved forty eight (48) hours after the first violation is issued, or the immediate tow and impoundment of the watercraft if the craft is deemed to be obstructive to traffic or traffic site lines.
The County Police Department and the Revenue Authority will oversee the distribution of fines, tow, and impoundment of all vehicles that violate this section.”Source: Prince George’s County Council“He kept telling me, ‘No, it’s not illegal. It’s not illegal,'” she said.
Prince George’s County representative Eric Olson said Boddie wasn’t the only one complaining about random boats in the neighborhood.He drafted a bill that banned boat parking on public streets, which passed the council this week. “We have neighborhoods across the county where people seem to be parking boats on the street, and it’s causing problems,” Olson said.
Olson presented photo evidence of several neighborhood streets where individuals have parked their boats and left them there. Residents said the boats can cause serious traffic issues by blocking a driver’s vision. The bill states that violators could face hundreds of dollars in fines and their boats can be towed within 48 hours of a violation.
NBC WashingtonThe bill states that boat owners could be towed or face hefty fines[/caption].
