The measure passed by a 6-1 vote, a stark contrast to the 4-3 vote that put the ordinance over the top in its first reading.

According to Mayor Russ McEwen, who along with council members Manuel Ramirez Jr. and Troy Tompkins voted against the measure two weeks ago, approving the ordinance was simply a matter of clarifying the concerns he had on the matter.

“That's why I'm voting in favor of this,” said McEwen. “My concerns have been addressed.”

Tompkins also voted in favor of the moratorium, with Ramirez continuing to hold out.

The moratorium, would prohibit permits to be issued for the containers — sometimes used by construction crews for storage, as well as by local residents in the place of sheds or other storage structures — until city officials can craft an ordinance that would address the matter.

McEwen said the moratorium will not prevent construction crews from using the containers, and will not prevent area residents who already have a permit renewing that permit.

According to Assistant City Manager Todd Darden, the moratorium will give the city staff time to research the use of the structures and determine if the city wants to continue permitting them.

“A couple of years ago this issue came up,” said Assistant City Manager Todd Darden during a previous meeting. “We refer to them as sea containers. They are the portable containers you see going up and down the railroad spurs as well as on the highways. After researching it, we began looking at some of the ordinances in our areas and what other communities were doing to address those.

“About four months ago we took a proposal tailored after what Midland has, and made some changes to it for what we thought would fit the Big Spring community and took it to Planning and Zoning. The Planning and Zoning Commission asked the staff to go back and look at it because the one we proposed did not allow them in residential zones except for construction purposes, which would be a temporary type permit.”

Local resident Edwin Ware spoke against the moratorium, expressing similar concerns delivered to the council during its first reading of the ordinance.

“The banning of sea containers is just one more example of big brother interfering with the property rights of individuals and businesses,” said Ware. “Big Spring City Council should be diligently protecting the civil rights of the citizens they have been elected to serve.”

According to Darden, the number of sea containers being utilized within the city limits continues to grow, making the moratorium a necessity while city officials decide how to handle the situation.

“What we're asking the council to do tonight is to place a temporary moratorium on them until the staff can get the research done and get it to Planning and Zoning for a recommendation to the council to consider,” Darden said.

Contact Staff Writer Thomas Jenkins at 263-7331 ext. 232 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it