City may limit freight containers for storage

The city of Havre may consider legislation that would put restrictions on “railroad freight cars, box cars, cargo containers and other large transportable metal containers” for use as storage or other purposes in the city.

The City Council’s Ordinance Committee looked at the proposal at its meeting Wednesday.

Further, the city may place a moratorium on new containers while it considers its options.

City officials said several such containers have been placed on properties in Havre recently, and they fear more will be forthcoming.

Committee Chair Andrew Brekke passed out copies of an ordinance recently approved by Chinook City Council that bars such containers in the city.

Dave Peterson, the director of public works, suggested the council look at the proposal.

“It’s hard to say that they cause property values to go down,” he said. “But they certainly don’t help the neighborhood.”

At the meeting, there was support for the idea of prohibiting or at least regulating such containers in residential areas, but members had qualms about banning them, especially in commercial areas.

Brekke said after a brief story in the Havre Daily News said the city was looking at such a proposal, he got several calls from businesses that use the containers for storage. They opposed the ban, he said.

Several people suggested that the containers may already come under city building regulations that require structures of 120 square feet or more get a building permit.

In Chinook, such containers may be used to move objects but may not remain parked for more than 30 days without the city permission “upon showing of hardship and necessity.”

Brekke and Mayor Tim Solomon were worried that once word gets out the city is considering such regulations, people will be in a hurry to buy new containers and beat the new rules. To avoid that, they said council may adopt a moratorium such as it did during the medical marijuana controversy several years ago.

A moratorium could be imposed by the council adopting a resolution, he said, a relatively simple process.

A new ordinance would be required if the city were to permanently change the rules, he said.