Anthony Keep / Special to the Las Vegas Sun
This undated photo shows a truck in a residential neighborhood in Sunrise Manor.
Saturday, Aug. 10, 2019 | 2 a.m.
Since Anthony Keep bought his home in Sunrise Manor in 2011, he’s seen a lot of improvements — nicer landscaping, new sidewalks and rebuilt roads, among them.
That’s why he was so disheartened when he started noticing big semitractor-trailers parked in the neighborhood, including one right in front of his house.
“These large 18-wheelers, they are literally tearing up the road,” Keep said. “Where does the responsibility lie?”
The Clark County Commission helped clarify that this week, when it authorized fines of up to $500 for illegally parked big rigs. In the past, they were only tagged with a warning and could be towed if not moved within 72 hours.
Clark County code prohibits trucks, trailers, RVs, campers and boats from obstructing streets, sidewalks and alleys. The problem has always been enforcing it, which has been up to the Las Vegas Township Constable’s Office.
The office has been too overwhelmed to respond to all the complaints, and the trucks are often gone by the time someone can get there to tag them, county officials said.
It’s an issue the county has been battling for years, Commissioner Lawrence Weekly said at a June 4 meeting.
“I know that in a lot of our older neighborhoods, there are lots of big trucks that are impacting the infrastructure,” he said. “The big trucks have just continuously torn them up.”
Commissioner Jim Gibson said the issue has been “beaten to death” and that a solution was long overdue. “Ever since I got here, we’ve been talking about it,” he said.
On Tuesday, commissioners approved adding more teeth to the county’s existing code, with violators now facing a $100 ticket for a first offense, $250 for the second offense and $500 for each subsequent offense. Vehicles not moved within 72 hours of a citation may still be towed.
Commissioners also expanded enforcement authority to include Metro Police and the county Public Response Office and authorized posting more signs in residential neighborhoods warning that commercial truck parking is prohibited.
Clark County Chief of Code Enforcement Jim Anderson said he expects the new rules to go into effect within the next two weeks.
For Keep, it can’t come soon enough. “Even just five minutes of these trucks being on the road causes a problem,” he said.
