Officials Are Afraid Yard Sales are Getting Out of Hand

You have seen them every weekend; you probably saw some today in your neighborhood. We are talking about yard and garage sales. In Durham though, city officials say these outdoors sales are getting out of control.

It is not every yard sale city officials are concerned about. They are concerned aboutwhatis for sale.

"We saw wishing wells, cars, those types of items turning up in residential areas," said city planner Pratt Simmons.

To keep neighborhoods from turning into junk yards, Durham citizens can now only hold a yard sale once every three months, and that sale can last no more than two days.

"We want to give the peace back to the neighborhoods, and bring back the aesthetics of a neighborhood," Simmons said.

With primarily clothes and household goods for sale, Dena Roberts does not think most yard sales are a problem. She calls them a valuable form of recycling.

"When anyone can recycle something, we all should have that opportunity," she said.

The crackdown also includes outdoor commercial sales, the kind seen on the roadside. Now those sales must be held on business property or they will not be permitted. The new rules take effect August 20.