Council Bounces Trampoline Rules

Southside trampoline. Image provided by Peter Burgelis.

Alderman Peter Burgelis‘s effort to place limits on trampolines bounced back at him on Tuesday.

Burgelis, after receiving a concerned message and photo from a constituent, sought to create trampoline placement regulations after learning no such restrictions existed.

“This is something that will protect our young people and people that frankly don’t give a damn about their kids,” said Burgelis to his council colleagues Tuesday.

A photo Burgelis previously circulated showed a backyard trampoline, without a net, next to a white picket fence.

“This ordinance gives the city a mechanism to ensure our kids don’t get speared on a fence post,” said the southwest side alderman. “That sounds like good policy to me. If you disagree with that, vote no.”

And his colleagues did. The proposal failed on a 5-6-4 vote.

“Are we jumping a little too high to regulate what is going on in the city of Milwaukee?” asked Ald. Alex Brower, who also snuck in a bouncing joke.

“This is something that should be dealt with by homeowners and insurance companies,” said Ald. DiAndre Jackson in June.

The council previously held the proposal to allow Burgelis to identify an appropriate amount for a fine. An amendment offered Tuesday would have lowered the fine from $100 per violation to $50. The first violation was to be a warning from the Department of Neighborhood Services; the department that would have been required to enforce the policy on a complaint basis.

“I do think this is a little ‘government gone too far,'” said Ald. Scott Spiker.

Burgelis, Robert Bauman, JoCasta Zamarripa, José G. Pérez and Russell W. Stamper, II voted for the proposal. Brower, Jackson, Spiker, Milele A. Coggs, Sharlen P. Moore and Marina Dimitrijevic voted no. Andrea Pratt, Mark Chambers, Jr., Lamont Westmoreland and Larresa Taylor abstained.

The proposal would have required trampolines without protective netting to maintain a 20-foot clearance from overhead objects, including power lines and tree limbs, and to be placed at least 15 feet from any permanent structures or objects, such as buildings and fences. Trampolines with protective netting could be placed within five feet of obstructions, or even closer if the manufacturer’s instructions allow it.

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