Garage Attic Space

[radicht]

I own a townhouse, and the garage is separate from the house. It is a two-car garage, and is connected to four other garages on the street. In the attic space above the garage, I would like to lay down some boards to allow me to store holiday decorations up top. I have included photos of the attic space and the exterior of the garage. My questions are two.

1. The attic space has a 2x4 that is braced from the peak down to the base (shown in the photo). This brace is somewhat in the way (as it comes down right over top of the entry. Question is, was this just put up during initial construction? Would I be safe to remove it now that everything has been built?

2. Second question is that I have read a lot about not using attic spaces for storage, is it safe to use this space above the garage to store decorations? Wouldn't be that much weight. Would just get it out of the garage.

 

[joecaption]

On my computer the pictures did not load, but I'm on dial up so lots of things do not come up.
If there's lots of 2 X 4's with metal plates on the sides of them there trusses not stick built rafters, and can not be cut.
A 2 X 4 ceiling rafter is only rated for about 6' for top loading, so thing about how big that garage is and you can see just how little can be stored up there.
A christmas tree and a few boxes of ornimintes should be all that's up there.

 

[joecaption]

That piece of 2 X 4 laying flat in the middle is called a perllin. it's there to hold the trusses in alignment so the sheet rock below does not crack or pop screws as much. It's code to have at least one there. All the 2 X 4's at an angle are to support the roof and to hold up the ceiling and can not be cut.