It should be a full meeting Thursday as Fayetteville City Council hears the second reading of an ordinance protecting children left unattended in vehicles and the first reading of ordinances on maximum residential occupancy, residential parking and group homes.

Ordinance 0-8-07 is aimed at protecting children left in vehicles and penalizing those leaving minors under age 6 unattended in vehicles and public places unless the child is in plain view.

“To address the continuing problem and danger of leaving children in vehicles and shopping areas, I have asked the city attorney to draft a proposal to make it a violation to leave children either in a vehicle or in a public area,” Police Chief Steve Heaton said in an April 25 memo. “Any person found to be in violation would be cited and required to appear in city court. The municipal court judge would determine the fine to be levied.”

The proposed ordinances on residential occupancy and parking and group homes follows an exploratory conversation at an April called meeting.

The occupancy ordinance outlines the number of persons per residence and addresses issues such as minimum square footage. The parking ordinance references the number of vehicles allowed at a residence. The group home ordinance stipulates issues such as minimum square footage and the distance between other licensed group homes.

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