At last week's village board of trustees public meeting, it was announced that the village's law forbidding commercial vehicles from parking on streets or on private property overnight has gone into effect. Those found violating the law can either be issued a ticket, notice of violation or summons.

The law states that no commercial vehicle may be parked on a residential property overnight or may be parked on the street. Residential property includes driveways so commercial vehicles would even be forbidden from parking in the driveways of residential homes overnight.

The village defines a commercial vehicle as any vehicle with commercial plates. However, that is not the only deciding factor in enforcing the law. Vehicles such as buses, limousines, taxis, ambulances, ambulettes, trucks used for landscaping or any other vehicle used for commerce come under jurisdiction of the law and therefore will be subject to tickets or summonses.

There have been complaints voiced at recent village board meetings concerning the presence of commercial vehicles such as trucks, which are deemed to be eyesores in areas residents desire to maintain as suburban. The village did conduct a public hearing before enacting the law.

"The spirit of the law, obviously, is to keep the residential neighborhoods intact so that they are not invaded by landscaping trucks and everything else kept overnight," Spellman said. "The visual impact is critical."

Commercial vehicles left on the street overnight can be ticketed. The village will not go on private property to affix a ticket to a vehicle. However, the village will send a notice of violation of a summons to the owner of a commercial vehicle left on residential property overnight.

- Joe Rizza