SHERBURNE - Monday afternoon, many Village of Sherburne residents came out to voice their opinions on two proposed local laws aimed at preserving the safety and beauty of the community.

A public hearing was held to hear comments on the two proposed laws.

The first proposed law would regulate the use of campers, RVs and other temporary structures for residential purposes.

According to a notice published by the village, “the law is intended to protect public health, safety, and welfare by prohibiting the use of campers, RVs and similar temporary structures as permanent or long-term residences.”

The law would prohibit those structures from being used as living or sleeping quarters for more than 14 consecutive days or 30 days in one calendar year. Further restrictions were listed to prevent permanent connections to utilities.

Several village residents attended the meeting and pointed out issues with the wording of the law.

“I don’t understand why we can’t connect to the utilities. I’m the one who pays the utilities anyway,” said resident Marissa Natoli.

Resident Chris Tomaselli voiced similar concerns. “You need to have an electric connection. When it’s stored, the propane detector would drain the battery,” he said, explaining that the electric connection is necessary for safety.

The second proposed law would prohibit parking motor vehicles, trailers, recreational vehicles, campers, boats and other equipment in the front yards of residential properties.

This proposed law is meant to focus on neighborhood appearances, improving safety and preserving neighborhood character.

Village resident Bill Thayer said he doesn’t understand why the village is focused on this issue. “We have way bigger issues with appearance,” Thayer said, mentioning specific properties with uncut grass and seemingly unsafe building conditions.

“We pay taxes. We pay extra taxes to be in the village. When did Sherburne become an HOA?” said resident Maria Romanowski. She stated concerns that these laws could lead to further village regulation down the road.

“We are limiting it to this,” assured Village of Sherburne Mayor Bill Acee. He explained that the laws were not meant to be punitive in nature.

“The intention is to prevent temporary structures from becoming permanent,” Acee said. “It’s more of a problem in other places.”

“Parking laws like this are routine in places with zoning,” said board member Mike Janitz. “It’s to protect the village vision and view. Not to tell people what they can and can’t do with their own vehicles. The intent is to keep things looking nice and getting problem areas cleaned up.”

Board member Elena Casscles said she believes the parking issue was proposed due to safety issues. “It’s about pedestrian safety and line of sight.”

After hearing the public comment, the village board determined that changes need to be made to the wording of both laws before any action will be taken.

The board proposed that RVs and campers could remain plugged into utilities to preserve safety, but some other minor wording changes will need to be made to both laws. Since changes will be made, another public hearing will be scheduled once revisions have been put in place.