parking behind gates

Started by CherieH • 16 replies • 1573 views

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CherieH (Arizona)
Posts: 19

Posted:

Our CCRS state 'Parking is allowed in the side & rear yards if screened from view of the street & neighboring properties'. And, 'Gates must be screened if storing any items including vehicles....'. My question is if ANY part of a pickup is seen over the gate, is this a violation? Our PM says it is and they must be covered or moved. 2 members of the board believe that the gate is sufficient, as only the roofs show. This has been allowed for 10 years. Most of the pickups are not seen but a few are. (They are parked closer to the gate.) Can we set a hiegth limit?

KcW (Florida)
Posts: 14

Posted:

Does your bylaws state "all of the car, except the top part, must be screened?"

No, it states your car must be screened. Is a roof part of a car, yes. Is the tires part of the car, yes. All must be screened.

Maybe your neighbors are sick and tired of looking at ALL YOUR TRUCKS in your backyard. Sounds like they have been pretty nice up until this point. But, if my neighbor did that, I would be mad too.

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,061

Posted:

The PM works for the Board.

The Board does not work for the PM.

MarkM19 (Texas)
Posts: 65

Posted:

I just recently read that rules that have not been enforced for 5 years become unenforceable. Would this be the case based on what was said in this post?

Has anyone ever had that 5 year thing tested under fire?

Mark

CherieH (Arizona)
Posts: 19

Posted:

Thank you for your replies. I am interested in the 5 year rule.

JanetB2 (Colorado)
Posts: 4,219

Posted:

Cherie … Your Arizona state statutes can be found here:
http://www.azleg.state.az.us/ArizonaRevisedStatutes.asp?Title=33

Keep in mind all states vary with regards to their laws. Mark did not say what state the article he read was based upon. In “quickly glancing” through some AZ statutes based on headings which may apply, I did not see any five year rule regarding your question posted. In many states usually any limitations are with regards to liens, with very few exceptions … however, I have posted the link here for you to review if needed.

Per your original question: Can you set a height limit?
Yes … as long as you follow your documents/statutes in properly amending your CCR’s.

Tim’s reply above is sound advice. Based on your original post is the PM new? If the homeowners are not complaining keep in mind the PM works for the Board and they determine actual violations (i.e., what is considered proper screening), not the PM.

CherieH (Arizona)
Posts: 19

Posted:

Thank you Janet. We've had this PM for about 2 years. But he is getting strickter. They write up all of the violations. When I suggested that they continue to ignor them as they always have, the response was, "I write up all of the violations or none of them!" The only owners that are complaining are the pickup owners. And there are less than half a dozen.No one has complained about parking them in the back yards.

JanetB2 (Colorado)
Posts: 4,219

Posted:

Not sure what you mean by this statement: The only owners that are complaining are the pickup owners. .And there are less than half a dozen.

The PM works for the Board, and can be replaced if they forget that fact.

Interesting … I would have thought it was a new PM going a little overboard regarding violations to give the impression they were earning the fee charged. PM’s can be great especially in large HOA’s … but this sometimes happens especially with a “young” PM company who feel they need to justify their fees.

BrianB (California)
Posts: 2,820

Posted:

there is no 5 year statute of enforcement limitation.

It becomes difficult to enforce a rule that hasn't been enforced in years, and it is doubly difficult to enforce a rule that has been broken and overlooked with a wink and a nod for years, but if an enforcement body wants to enforce a rule, no matter how old the rule, and no matter how overlooked, they can. it just gets tough.

Heck, take a look at the Justice department. They are looking to dust off a WWI sedition statute that hasn't seen the light of day for almost 90 years, just to get one guy behind bars.

MarkM19 (Texas)
Posts: 65

Posted:

Brian B.
I also live in California. The rule about 5 years was mentioned in the Davis-Stirling website. I have attached the link below.

http://www.davis-stirling.com/MainIndex/GrandfatherClause/tabid/2801/Default.aspx

It speaks about grandfathered issues or issues that have been ignored for long periods of time.

Mark

JanetB2 (Colorado)
Posts: 4,219

Posted:

Hi Mark:

Just wanted to check with you as the link you posted does not state anything about a 5 year period. Are you sure you pasted the correct link?

MarkM19 (Texas)
Posts: 65

Posted:

Janet,
I could not find the exact post that I was looking for that mentioned the 5 year thing. I know I saw it mentioned on this blog.

I am in Ca. so I went to the Davis-Stirling site to try and find it. To me it says the same thing. If a rule is not enforced for many years and the Board decides to start enforcing the rule they may have to Grandfather in the people that have broken the rule for many years.

This is my interpretation anyway. I am wondering if anyone else reads it the same way.

Mark

JanetB2 (Colorado)
Posts: 4,219

Posted:

Mark ... I have not seen that one.

You might want to start a new thread with your question so we do not have any newbies get confused with discussions pertaining to two different state’s (AZ vs. CA) statutes. That way you also would possibly get better response to your question.

CherieH (Arizona)
Posts: 19

Posted:

Thank you, I'll ask it again.

RobW (California)
Posts: 279

Posted:

I'm the one who posted the information about the 5-year enforcement limitation from the Davis-Stirling site. I have no idea if it applies in Arizona, but we have to be careful when we quote things from memory. The 5-year enforcement limitation in California has to do with Boards running the risk of losing the right to bring legal action against homeowners for violations that they knew about, or should have known about, for at least 5 years. I does not mean the same rules can't be enforced in the future, even against the same homeowner, if new violations occur.

Grandfathering is the means by which a violation can be allowed to continue. It isn't normally applied to something that can be easily rectified, such as screening a vehicle, but is typically applied to architectural violations.

Rob

CherieH (Arizona)
Posts: 19

Posted:

Rob, how can you easily screen a veh.? You can't plant shrubs behind it. And you can't raise the gate higher then the 6'wall. What would work?

RobW (California)
Posts: 279

Posted:

I don't know what your rules specifically allow or disallow, Cherie, but how about an attractive form-fitting fabric cover that fits over the vehicle? Isn't that "screening" it?

Rob

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