Independence City Council established an ordinance on Monday that defines shipping containers in city law and regulates the storage of such containers in the city’s residential and mixed-use zones.
The Kenton County Planning Commission recommended the regulations in February. City Attorney Jack Gatlin gave a brief history of the ordinance before council members voted.
“These really came out of a couple of hearings that were in front of the code enforcement board,” Gatlin said, “and we felt like we needed to kind of tighten our definitions a little bit to make it a little bit clear that people can’t buy these shipping containers for $4,000 or $5,000 online and just plop them in their backyard.”
Specifically, the ordinance, which you can read here, defines shipping containers and establishes where a person could store them on their property. Shipping containers can now be legally stored on residential and mixed-properties for a max of 30 days while a resident is moving in or out of a place, as long as the containers are at least five feet away from adjoining property lines.
The ordinance also establishes allowable setback variations for driveways: Driveways and other vehicle access points can now encroach upon a property’s setback as long as they are at least two feet away from the property to which they run parallel.
The council engaged in little discussion on the matter on Monday and cast a unanimous vote in favor of the ordinance.