Do cars belong in front yards in Inver Grove Heights?

What many consider a tacky, unsightly problem has popped up in well-mannered Inver Grove Heights: Some people are parking their vehicles on their front lawns.

"It looks terrible," Council Member Vance Grannis said last week as the City Council viewed photos of offending properties.

The issue was brought to the city's attention by homeowners who've worried they will not be able to sell their home with a car stowed on their neighbor's front lawn. "Something needs to be done about this!" the couple urged in a recent e-mail.

Persuaded by the photos, and the fact that neighboring cities prohibit parking on front-yard grass, City Council members last week agreed to consider regulations for front and side yard parking in Inver Grove Heights.

"You shouldn't be parking on the grass," said Council Member Dennis Madden.

Council members also asked city planner Allan Hunting for information on whether parking or storage of all vehicles -- including boats, campers, RV's, cars and trucks -- should be limited to hard surfaces.

Mindful of the community's sensitivity to government meddling, Mayor George Tourville tried to head off reaction by stressing that nothing has been decided -- the council has just agreed to consider the issue.

Restricting the parking of cars and boats is always a touchy subject, officials said.

"There is a balance the community has to try and address between a public need -- maintaining healthy, stable neighborhoods -- versus property rights," said Community Development Director Tom Link.

Front lawn parking has come up before, around 2005, when the council considered a property maintenance ordinance that would have addressed a variety of issues, Link said. In the end, after extensive public discussion, with some people favoring the ordinance and others opposing it, the City Council decided not to enact it.

Hunting expects another round of vigorous public discussion this time.

"Some will say, 'Yes, we need to control this.' And then we will hear from people who say, 'We should be able to park where we want,' " he said.

A followup question he will ask is whether "grass" is a key word, and whether they allow parking in front of residences as long as it's on hard surfaces.

After more research, Hunting expects to bring a proposed ordinance to the council sometime this spring.