Town of Babylon Proposes Permit For Yard/Garage Sales

BABYLON, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Cleaning out your clutter with a garage sale won't likely be welcome anymore in the Town of Babylon.

The town wants homeowners to pay for a permit and is proposing  a new "sales of personal property" section to its code to regulate yard sales, also known as garage or tag sales, CBS2's Emily Smith reports.

Gene McAdams spends a lot of time on his yard mowing and landscaping almost every day, but not everyone on Babylon pays the same attention to detail he does.

"There's junk out in the guy's front yard and every week or two he has garage sales," McAdams said. "People running a junk yard from their front yard. That's not conducive to the quality of life."

This is why a new town code, expected to be approved, aims to put some regulations on garage sales. An ordinance will require homeowners to obtain a permit and pay $5 to have a garage sale.

The rules also include each homeowner only holding two a year; the sale can be set up for just two consecutive days; sales are limited to the weekends and can only be held April-September.

Town Councilman Thomas Donnelly says the minimal fee proves it's not revenue-producing effort -- but strictly a way to protect the quality of life.

Still some say the town should stay out of people's business.

"So many people have them I think it's at their discretion," said one resident.

Town officials say there won't be any patrolling for this ordinance but a complaint-driven effort. The fines begin at $100 and by a third offense could cost $2,500.

A public hearing will be held Tuesday morning before the town board votes.