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Luzerne County&#8217;s controversial new junk-vehicle ordinance is still idling.A council majority already passed the county zoning amendment ordinance but held off on putting it into effect Tuesday. Instead, council will consider the county Planning Commission&#8217;s recommendation to repeal or amend the ordinance.Officials from Fairmount and Union townships &#8212; two of the 23 municipalities covered by county zoning &#8212; told the Planning Commission last week most of their residents don&#8217;t want the ordinance and said the county shouldn&#8217;t dictate matters that belong at the municipal level.Council Vice Chairman Edward Brominski, who introduced the ordinance, urged his colleagues to proceed as planned, saying he believes the county has a responsibility to address eyesores. Brominski gave council photographs of a Fairmount Township supervisor&#8217;s property as an example of a site with junk vehicles that should be addressed.&#8220;I think this is something we have to do in order to enhance Luzerne County,&#8221; Brominski said. &#8220;This is not an isolated incident.&#8221;Councilman Harry Haas, who had voted against the ordinance in March along with Rick Morelli and Tim McGinley, said others may disagree with Brominski&#8217;s opinion that the vehicles and parts in the photograph are junk.&#8220;We still live in a free country,&#8221; Haas said.Morelli said he&#8217;s received complaints from elected officials about council &#8220;getting involved with their business.&#8221;Councilwoman Eileen Sorokas said she&#8217;s rethinking her support because many people approached her criticizing the ordinance, particularly farmers and other rural folks who leave vehicles and parts outside.Brominski said the ordinance is not intended to target farm equipment, antique vehicles slated for restoration or other rusty parts still in productive use. He also disagreed with a prediction that most property owners will resist attempts to remove junk vehicles from their properties.Fairmount Township Supervisor Lyle Harvey told council Tuesday the junk vehicle issue ended up before the county because a newer township resident has repeatedly objected to junk cars and parts that have been on a neighboring property for many decades. Harvey said township officials have been monitoring the situation.Harvey said he believes property owners have a right to decide what&#8217;s kept on their property as long as they comply with laws. He said the newer property owner was fully aware of the condition of the other property when he chose to move here.The ordinance would make it a public nuisance to keep a junk vehicle or automobile hulk out in the open if it is visible up to 500 feet away from public property or private property belonging to someone else. Landlords and owners would face a weekly $500 penalty if they don&#8217;t address nuisances within 60 days, with a maximum fine of $2,500.Council may vote on an amended version of the ordinance next month.The status of Wilkes-Barre&#8217;s historic train station also was discussed Tuesday.Sorokas, one of several council members who toured the building last week, said she is haunted by the deteriorating condition of the property, which has become a haven for the homeless. Sorokas said she was shocked to smell and see evidence of trespassers defecating in the corners of the rooms where they sleep.&#8220;That building was in horrible condition. It took me two days to recover,&#8221; Sorokas said.Morelli, who also was on the tour, said he was impressed with the original brick structure and wants to revive plans to use county community development funding to save the building.The county Redevelopment Authority purchased the former New Jersey Central train station at the corner of Market Street and Wilkes-Barre Boulevard, which sits on a 6-acre parcel that also includes a strip mall, for $5.8 million in April 2006 using federal community development funds provided by prior county commissioners.With no money to fund renovations, the authority hired Scranton-based Hinerfeld Realty at the end of last year to try to market and sell the property. The company has a one-year contract and is working on a commission basis.If the county doesn&#8217;t step in, Morelli said he worries a year will pass with no purchase offers, leaving a building that has further deteriorated.The brick structure was built in 1868 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.Reilly told council Hinerfeld has received inquiries from two prospective bidders but no offers.County Manager Robert Lawton had halted plans to pump another $2 million in community development funds into renovations, but he said council may have the authority to go against his recommendation and reactivate an earmark for the project.Council did not take action to restore funding for the project Tuesday.

Luzerne County keeping brakes on junk vehicle crackdown for now