| Member Rosen said there are a lot of vehicles that could be dual use. They |
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| have to try and separate size and appearance and put it into some easily |
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| identifiable discriminator. It's important to understand that the size of the |
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| vehicle or the physical appearance of its size may not have anything to do |
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| with either its weight or its cargo carrying capacity. For example, he |
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| pointed out that the picture of the big cube van could be as light as a ten |
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| series van with very light axles and not even make 2,000 pound cargo |
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| capacity. It's very unusual, but it can happen. He noted that ten series |
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| chevrolet vans or fifteen series GMC's can be very light cargo weight |
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| vehicles. They can be 1,500 pounds (3/4 ton) or less. Another example is |
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| a Jimmy with just over 2,000 pounds cargo capacity. He said if the limit is |
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| one ton cargo capacity, he said he could do two things to avoid it. He could |
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| drive the Jimmy, throw everything in the back and no one would ever |
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| suspect it was a work vehicle. Alternatively, he could have a van |
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| customized in such a way that the cargo capacity was just under 2,000 |
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| pounds. He could get away with this regardless of what the van looks like |
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| or what is stored inside, because it's the cargo capacity that makes the |
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| difference. The words "commercial," "size," and "weight," don't relate to |
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| each other. If it's the appearance of "commercial" that they're trying to get |
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| away from, that is a different set of criteria than the type of vehicle or it's |
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| cargo capacity. He felt that this is what needs to be settled first. He said it |
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| sounds like they're trying to get away from commercial. |
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| The Chair said it sounds like they're trying to get away from the appearance |
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| of discrimination in the city. In some parts of the city, it's not an issue |
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| because the deed restrictions solve it. In other parts of the city where there |
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| are no deed restrictions or economics has determined where certain |
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| groups live, that's where the people with the offensive vehicles are |
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| centralized. He said they need to stay focused on the problem which is that |
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| there are pick-up trucks and vans that people need in their work and that |
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| are clearly identified as commercial in nature, probably because some |
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| have some writing on them and some have ladders hanging off the side, |
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| that are getting ticketed. |
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