The Gardendale City Council voted Monday to revise its yard sale ordinance.

Yard sale permits are free, but they are necessary for individuals, businesses or organizations that want to have a yard sale within city limits.

“The city is not against yard sales. There just needed to be some regulation,” said Gardendale Mayor Othell Phillips. He said the city has received numerous complaints about “people running yard sales like a business, over and over in residential neighborhoods.”

The repeated yard sales cause traffic and parking problems in neighborhoods, Phillips said.

Under the updated ordinance, a yard sale can be held at the same address only twice a year.

Also, people are not allowed to advertise, sponsor or have a yard sale without first having obtained a permit from the city. Permits also must be displayed in a prominent location at the yard sale.

Permit applications are available at Gardendale City Hall, located at 970 Main Street.

The revised ordinance also places limits on signs for yard sales, including:

• no signs may be placed sooner than 24 hours prior to the date and time of the yard sale, as shown on the approved permit

• no signs allowed on state rights of way or in medians along U.S. Hwy. 31

• no signs may be placed onto any official sign or utility pole in city limits

• all signs must be removed no later than midnight on the expiration date of the yard sale permit.

The permit holder will be held responsible upon violation of the ordinance.

Violations, upon conviction, will be a misdemeanor and will be punishable by a fine of $100 to $500 and/or up to 60 days in jail.

To learn more, pick up a copy of the ordinance at Gardendale City Hall or call city hall at 631-8789.