The city council in Jacksonville, Florida, has taken up a proposal that, if approved, would make it illegal for residents to park their cars in any manner that prevents law enforcement from seeing their rear license plates from the street.

For those who live in single-family homes with off-street parking, such a law would make backing into the driveway to park an illegal act. Florida is among a handful of states that don’t require car owners to display license plates at the front of their cars.

The proposed local bill would also require people who use car covers to figure out a way to make the license plates of covered cars similarly visible.

According to The Florida Times-Union, local officials attribute the need for such a law to code enforcers’ inability to cite owners of abandoned vehicles.

If all that sounds like a head-scratcher, here’s the language from the bill itself (italics have been added to highlight the most relevant portion):

WHEREAS, the Council finds that certain persons are storing vehicles in side yards or parking vehicles in such a manner which prevents the observation of the license tag from the right-of-way; and

WHEREAS, such improper storage of vehicles contributes to blight conditions; and

WHEREAS, the City of Jacksonville has a compelling interest in promoting the health and safety of citizens and visitors by regulating potentially hazardous conditions and blighting influences on private property; now therefore

BE IT ORDAINED by the Council of the City of Jacksonville:

Section 1. Chapter 518 (Jacksonville Property Safety and Maintenance Code), Ordinance Code, amended. Chapter 518 (Jacksonville Property Safety and Maintenance Code), Ordinance Code, is hereby amended to read as follows:

…

It shall be unlawful for any person to store on any private or public property, or the owner or occupant of any property to store or allow to be stored on private or public property owned or occupied by such owner or occupant, outside of a legally constructed fully enclosed structure, unless approved pursuant to a Planned Unit Development zoning district, the following items:

1) any abandoned, disabled or inoperative motor vehicle or parts thereof, or unless it is stored on a bona fide automobile sales lot or an automobile storage yard or automobile wrecking yard, as those terms are defined in Section 656.1301, Ordinance Code;

2) any abandoned, inoperative, disabled or unattended freezer, refrigerator or parts thereof;

3) any junk, rubbish or garbage;

4) any materials, equipment, furnishings, furniture, appliances, construction materials or any items which are not designed to be used outdoors;

5) any item of personal property including clothing or bedding; or

6) any vehicle that is parked on private property, and is visible from the right-of-way or any vehicle that is covered to protect the motor vehicle which does not comply with this subsection:

Any parked vehicle that is visible from the right-of-way shall contain the required license tag, and such license tag shall be clearly visible from the right-of-way or the license tag shall be printed legibly and visible from the right-of-way, with characters not less than two inches in height so that it is clearly visible from the right-of-way.
Any cover shall allow at least the bottom of at least six inches of each tire to be visible from the right-of way. The required license tag shall be clearly visible from the right-of-way or the license tag number shall be printed legibly on the cover with characters not less than two inches in height so that it is clearly visible from the right-of-way.
Covers shall be in good condition without tears, rips or holes. The entire cover shall be one color, except factory-made fitted covers may have more than one color, and shall be kept clean and free from mold and mildew. Covers may include tarpaulin which shall be in good condition, free of holes, tears and rips.
As the bill makes plain, it seeks to apply these requirements to all vehicles, regardless of whether they’re parked on public or private property.

The bill doesn’t refer to other law enforcement endeavors that might require an unobstructed street view of parked cars — such as the use of license plate scanners. The American Civil Liberties Union asked the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office in 2012 whether it uses such devices — and what it does with any data it collects — but has not indicated any response.

The sheriff’s office told WJXT-TV in 2013 that it does not use license plate scanners.

After the SCOTUS ruling today, I didn't think that backing into ANYTHING was illegal.....

What a bummer.

Does that apply to garage use?

New requirement.

A few years ago the town of Ketchum, ID tried to enact an ordinance that required all vehicles to be parked inside closed garages. High board fences didn't count. It had to be completely enclosed. Vehicles were defined as pretty much anything a person could be inside of including motor homes, campers, and boats.
The residents were less than pleased and it never got enacted.

If they thought campers were unsightly, think of what it would look like with all those new garages.

Jax is yet another crime ridden, black governed City in the South. Great town otherwise. City Council and the mayor are nuts.

My nephew lives in Jax.. I just sent him that info.

I've worked for companies that require company vehicles to always be parked backed in.

same here

Not to worry, the Gestapo will soon be using drones to look for violators. Keep your winder blinds closed 24/7

I used to have a boss that lived in a high priced area of West Little Rock. He could not park a Pickup truck in the driveway or on the street. It had to be in the garage and his car outside. miles

Standard O&G rule.

A lot of places controlled by HOA's have rules like that. You can't even have overnight guests' cars parked in sight.

A man that would live under such rules likely ask his wife for his balls on date nite.

If it's a law then it is not a HOA issue. What is the rationale?

Cape Coral, FL used to be the worst for that. For years, you could not park a truck, or work vehicle in your driveway (unless you rented, then it was OK), or a boat in your front or side yard, even if well kept & on a trailer. Your grass was not allowed over a certain length (4 inches if I remember correctly), and they had Code Enforcement idiots that would actually go in your yard to measure it. It stayed that way til the old farts finally got outnumbered by population growth.

Measure is aimed at cracking down on abandoned vehicles kept on private property....they want to be able to see the license from the street.....just stupid. With that rationale, should be illegal to park in a garage.

Great. You gotta take care of all the abandoned vehicles and junk. Never mind all the toddlers that will get ran over.

Good reason why USPS will fire an employee who is using reverse when they can avoid it.

I might save a few dogs lives. If the leo can see your tag from inside their vehicle, they may not have to get out to look, and shoot your dogs, being scared and all.

Yes, and it's good to see how much they are focusing on the real problems in the world. All we need is more laws.

That would make it illegal to park in a garage and close the door. Yes, I know there and darned few inclosed garages FL.

figgers. jax is the philly of florida

so its an ordinance that will be only enforced in poor areas of town that they have a large number of untagged derelect vehicles but unenforced in areas of town that have garages and circular driveways.
what about the large apartment complexes, malls, condos...cant see all those tags from a public street.
are police now authorized to come onto private property, sans warrant or PC and visually inspect a vehicle because the owner doesnt park it within the "ordinance guidlines"?
does than mean police can walk into an occupied dwelling and enter a garage to check your tag?

like the majority of ordibabces, they are fel good BS and the county/city has bigger problems to ignore.