Montgomery County car buffs fired up over proposed junk-car restriction
By: Alan Suderman
Examiner Staff Writer
July 12, 2009
Montgomery County's car buffs are worried that a proposed anti-junk-car rule may hamper their hobby.
County Executive Ike Leggett has proposed tightening the county's laws so that county residents couldn't store their unused, unregistered cars on their property if the cars were in the public's view for more than 30 days. The move is in response to complaints from residents that junk cars sitting in plain sight hurt the look of the community and lower property values.
But one man's junker is another man's classic-that-hasn't-been-restored-yet, and concerned antique car enthusiasts say the proposed rule would make it impossible to fix up old cars without a large amount of garage space.
"There's a big difference between the guy who has a junk car sitting on his front yard because he doesn't know what to do with it, and a guy who has an old car that he's working on to bring back and make useful again," said Charlie Carroccio, a Rockville lawyer and old-car buff.
In response to a handful of complaints from antique car fans and concerns from a citizens association, County Council staff has recommended changing Leggett's legislation to have a 120-day extension "to restore one vehicle if the vehicle owner shows that the work will be completed within the requested time."
But Carroccio said that fix wouldn't work because fixing up a car is usually a lengthy process, as it has been with two British sport cars he owns.
"I'm fortunate enough to have a garage where my three-year project is in a garage," he said. "It's probably a 15- or 17-year project sitting behind it."
A large number of Montgomery County residents like to work on old cars, Carroccio said. There's a cruise-in every Sunday morning in Burtonsville, and car shows can be found in the region almost every weekend, he added.
County Councilwoman Nancy Floreen, D-at large, said the council needed more information on how many complaints there have been about junk cars in the county before making any decisions.
"There's no easy solution for these neighbor versus neighbor issues," she said.
But Carroccio said the concerns of the county's car buffs may be ignored.
"The politicians like the old cars when they ride in them in the parades," Carroccio said. "But they don't have any consideration for them any other time."
