Junk cars parked in front yards have long been an eyesore to neighbors in Leflore County subdivisions, a majority of the county's supervisors says.
Now, the Board of Supervisors is revisiting a proposal to ban the practice in all unincorporated parts of the county.
Supervisors have balked on a similar ordinance in the past. But a complaint about a broken-down car that has been parked close to a property line on Murphree Drive for at least six weeks came to the board Monday, prompting supervisors to reconsider the idea.
Robert Moore, the board's president, said, "I've got a similar situation in my district where these cars are not running and sitting right on people's front lawns.
"And if I were a neighbor, I'd be a little offended by that. They ought to park it somewhere in the back yard."
But at least one supervisor is reluctant to impose on private property throughout the county.
The board voted 3-1 for its attorney Willie Perkins to draft a possible ordinance, with District 1 Supervisor Phil Wolfe voting against the idea. District 3 Supervisor Jimmie Barnes, who was opposed to the previous consideration, was absent.
Wolfe says that while he favors keeping the county neat and tidy, ensuring that residents clean their yards should not be the board's responsibility. That's a job reserved for the neighborhoods themselves, many of which maintain covenants imposing certain aesthetic standards.
"The incorporated areas, I can understand that," Wolfe said. "But the places that don't already have covenants, I kind of hate to go onto a person's property and say what that person can and can't do on their own property."
Wolfe said the proposed ordinance could interfere with farming operations, which often store machinery and vehicles in plain view of neighboring houses and roadways.
Besides, he noted, the ordinance would not greatly affect his district because most residents there live in the city of Greenwood, which has its own ordinance against putting cars to rest in front yards.
The vehicle that elicited the complaint on Murphree Drive does not appear to be a "junk car," according to David Fondren, the county's public safety and zoning officer, although he did say, "The car won't run."
"It's not what I reckon you'd call a junk car," he said. "It's not a car that's beat up or anything. It's just a car sitting there."
Moore said the complaint was not about the car's appearance but instead about the fact that it is kept close to a fence between adjoining properties.
