Town Presses Towing Company To Resolve Parking Problems

By Andrew Gorosko

Police and zoning officials are urging a local towing company to resolve parking problems near its business that have prompted some Pocono Road residents to complain that the situation poses severe sight line hazards for motorists exiting Pocono Road onto Mt Pleasant Road (Route 6).

In a March 9 letter to Paul Hilario of Hilario’s Service Center at 131 Mt Pleasant Road, Police Chief Michael Kehoe wrote that police will be monitoring the area near the service center for violations of law and will pursue violations of law, including possible arrest and the removal of illegally parked vehicles.

The service center operates a heavy-wrecker service that tows large vehicles such as tractor-trailer trucks and buses to its property. It also repairs vehicles.

The Hilario properties at 131, 133, and 135 Mt Pleasant Road, which comprise about 2.5 acres, have B-2 commercial zoning.

At a March 7 Police Commission meeting, resident Diane Merrifield of 26 Pocono Road complained to commission members that the service center illegally parks trucks at 133 Mt Pleasant Road in front of a restaurant, and also at 135 Mt Pleasant Road in front of a house, adding that such parking violates the town’s zoning regulations.

Ms Merrifield also said the service center illegally parks tractor-trailer trucks on state-owned property on the north side of Mt Pleasant Road, which is across the street from the service center and is within a posted no-parking zone. Vehicles parked on the north side of the street create dangerous sight-line obstructions for motorists exiting Pocono Road onto Mt Pleasant Road, she said.

Glenn Atkinson of 5 Pocono Road and Paul Grenier of 29 Pocono Road also attended the session to underscore Ms Merrifield’s concerns.

In his March 9 letter to Paul Hilario, Chief Kehoe wrote that “Public safety cannot be maintained when these types of actions are allowed.”

The police chief urges that the service center cooperate with the town in the interest of public safety and to eliminate the presence of unsightly vehicles.

In a March 14 cease-and-desist order planned to be issued to Mr and Mrs Arthur Hilario, Zoning Enforcement Officer Gary Frenette states that the towing company has been illegally parking and storing large trucks and trailers at 133 and 135 Mt Pleasant Road, in violation of the zoning regulations. Mr Frenette writes that his past warnings to resolve the problem have not been heeded.

Due to public safety issues and legal issues, a cease-and-desist order to end the violations is necessary, Mr Frenette adds.

Mr Frenette said March 15, “It is a hazardous situation. It needs to be corrected as a soon as possible.”

Mr Frenette said the parking problem on the north side of Mt Pleasant Road falls under the jurisdictions of town police, state police, and the state Department of Transportation.

In a March 4 letter to Mr Frenette, Ms Merrifield complained that the obstructed sight line situation at the intersection of Mt Pleasant Road and Pocono Road is so serious that it could result in a motor vehicle accident fatality. 

In response to the complaints, Paul Hilario said on March 15, that his business plans to abide by the requirements of the police chief and the zoning enforcement officer.

“I’m sure that we’ll come up with a resolution that we all can live with,” he said.

Mr Hilario suggested that the service center business be expanded to the Hilario properties at 133 and 135 Mt Pleasant Road to provide more space for its operations. “If I had the room here, [the trucks] wouldn’t be out on the road,” he said.

Mr Hilario acknowledged that the presence of trucks parked across the street from the service center poses sight line problems for motorists exiting Pocono Road.

Mr Hilario said that following his receipt of Chief Kehoe’s letter, he referred the matter to his lawyer for review.