Preston hears changes to the town code

PRESTON – Preston’s town code is getting a refresh. Town commissioners held a public hearing to review an updated draft of the town code on Monday, March 3, prior to their scheduled monthly town meeting. During the hearing, commissioners addressed curfews, noise ordinances, garage sales, and backyard campfires, among other items.

“Ever since I came on board, the code has been an issue,” Preston Town Manager Amber Korell said. The code has not been updated since 2001, meaning that all ordinances and legislation passed since then have not been codified. While the enforceability of this legislation remains intact, the code discrepancy mainly causes unnecessary work for town officials and law enforcement, according to Korell. 

During a Maryland Municipal League conference last year, Korell was introduced to General Code, a code-writing service also used by the town of Federalsburg. After comparing Preston’s original town code to state mandates and other requirements, General Code submitted a full draft of a usable town code for Preston. This draft was the document presented during the public hearing. Korell said it has been a year getting to this point, but she is hopeful that the updated town code can be put in place before the start of the next fiscal year, which begins July 1.  

Many corrections to the draft [DB2] that the Town Commissioners reviewed were minor lingual inaccuracies, such as the use of “chief of police.” The town of Preston does not have a chief of police, rather, they work with the Caroline County Sheriff’s Office for their policing. Since General Code is an outside entity, these inaccuracies are to be expected, Korell said. “That’s something that someone from the outside may not know.”

Other changes to the draft that were brought before the commissioners dealt with redundant or overcomplicated regulations.

For example, under the current town code, there is a 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. curfew for residents under the age of 18. Commissioner Janice Isenberg noted that it’s hard to enforce this curfew without a town police department. Korell argued that noise ordinances and general resident alertness would most likely take care of any undesired activity.

Similarly, the draft code eliminates a previous chapter concerning yard or garage sales. An outdated requirement for a garage sale permit and a $3 payment to the town has not been enforced in recent years, prompting the proposal to remove the chapter. Commissioner Steve Hildenbrand raised concerns that unregulated garage sales would lead to residents leaving items in their yards, but Korell noted that any garage sale items left outside for more than three days would violate a separate town ordinance and would therefore be taken care of.

 One of the proposed amendments to the draft code was the redacting of an ordinance that does not allow for small personal fires on private property. In the proposed update, personal campfires would be permissible as long as they are contained in a fire pit and certain safety regulations are duly met.

Town Manager Korell advocated for a simplification of Preston’s noise ordinance, which originally had varying time frames based on a long list of types of noises. Commissioners will need to decide on a fair time frame for this generalized noise ordinance. 

The remainder of the revisions were minor corrections, such as updating the park rental fee from $25 to the current fee of $50.

Preston residents can submit comments on the proposed draft code to Town Manager Amber Korell until March 20. Commissioners will discuss public comments and make decisions during workshops between now and May.

“It’s been a long time coming,” said Commission President Savannah Winston on updating the town code, “We have a task ahead of us.”