Neighbor's industrial truck

Hello everyone,

I am new to the group, but I have a serious problem with a neighbor's commercial vehicle that the HOA board of directors has allowed to remain in our neighborhood under conditions.

In July I moved into a brand new townhouse in Winchester, Virginia.  These townhomes are considered upscale for the area.  While moving in my brother noticed a a large, green truck with a crane, winches, a generator, and tool bins all over.  We both thought it was part of the still on going construction in the development, but sometime later I learned that it is used by my next door neighbor for his work as a heavy vehicle repair technician for a local excavating company.

This bothers me a great deal, not so much because the truck is an aesthetic eyesore which it is, but because this fellow works in two professions both rated for asbestos exposure.  This not to mention potential exposure to all sorts of other nasty substances found at excavation sites, especially those that saw demolition beforehand.  Anyways, he brings his dirty truck back in the evening, and parks so the muddy extended fantail of the truck overhangs the sidewalk, and he parks at the high end of the street.  So everytime it rains the crap runs off his truck right down the sidewalk and on to my walk/lawn.  I and my dog then track that stuff right into the house.  I am even afraid to open the front windows because of the close proximity of his dusty truck.

Although, I thought to talk with the neighbor directly as I prefer, someone who knew the fellow urged me not to do so.  So I and at least one other homeowner (there are probably only 8-10 in the entire community at present including the fellow with the truck) complained to the HOA representative and the builder.  The HOA representitive initially seemed very optimistic that the rules were on our side.  After a few weeks though he called me back and said that the board of directors had decided to allow the truck to stay as long as he covered the sign and kept the vehicle clean.  He has fulfilled the first requirement, but not paid much heed to the second.

The decision to allow his vehicle to stay provisionally was made because apparently the rules were written to the state standard for commercial vehicles, which is defined as anything 13 tons or over, and capacity to carry over 10 people.  This is absolutely ridiculous!  Anyone looking at this vehicle can see this is a commercial/industrial vehicle, and it is parked at the epicenter of our new community.  Kids play around the vehicle even though it has 'danger' stickers placed all over it. The fellow was asked if he would consider placing his truck in the overflow/satellite parking area a little further away from people's homes, and he apparently refused.  Now the HOA manager says his truck is 'grandfathered' in so even when we the residents takeover leadership of the HOA we will not be able to do anything about it!

This is intolerable, and I am not going to stand for it, but I don't know where to begin?  The HOA manager is a joke and quite ineffectual.  Should I hire a lawyer?  Talk to the guy and try and make him understand that he is ruining my quality of life?  Contact his company myself?  Do a Ghandi style fast?  What?

Thank you in advance for any helpful advice.

Hi Jeanne,

I am not sure, except that they are supposed to prohibit this kind of vehicle, except the board whoever they are decided to allow it to remain with conditions.

I will ask the HOA representative.

Thanks

Is the neighborhood still being developed?

Charles,

Rule Number One in making complaints in a condo association is to read the declaration of covenants, conditions, and restrictions (CC&R's). In a condo, this is the Bible.

If it looks like a duck, walks like as duck, smells like a duck, quacks like a duck, then we are pretty safe in saying it is a duck.

A truck loaded with commercial gear is a commercial truck even if no signage. Also look at the type license plate. The BOD is aiding/abetting someone violating its own rules.

Now the question becomes if he can legally park on the street (not determined yet and something for you to check on..like over night parking), would you rather have that truck on the street then in his driveway?

My HOA streets are town streets but the town does not allow overnight parking on the streets. Explore this avenue.

Hope this helps.

Charles, you can try to post pictures but be advised the file must be small to be accepted. What we need as others have asked is what exactly it says in your CC&R's about commercial vehicles, as the devil is in the details. Even a car can be considered a commercial vehicle depending on signage and how it is registered.

Charles

I suggest you drop the asbestos angle as this can be very subjective.

The real issues are:

1. Is this a commercial vehicle? I think the answer is a simple yes.

2. If barred from parking in the driveway, can he still park it overnight on the street?

We had a similiar issues in my last neighborhood. They were commercial vehicles and one could not park any vehicla overnight on the street. In one case, he cleaned out his garage and parked in there. End of that problem. In the other case, the truck would not fit in his garage so he had to make provisions to park elsewhere. We had a boat/RV storage lot so we allwed him to park the truck there.

Neither were happy campers.

Hi Charles....

I have never been able to attach a picture in this forum either. An easy work-around is to copy and paste the image into a WORD document and then attach the WORD doc to your post.

HTH,
Ann

Pictures are not necessary, we all agree or at least most of us do that it is a commercial vehicle. What is needed is the covenant prohibiting commercial vehicles to see if it is a prohibited or not. The devil is in the details.

Suggest you put them on Photobucket or equiv. then post the link.

Paul T

Good morning,

Paul: Thats a great Idea! I will do that as soon as possible.

Glen: Thank you for suggesting a work around, if the management company remains unresponsive, I will use that approach.

Thanks again

Charles,

Until the CC&Rs are located and the language provided, I can only provide this additional info:

No Board, be they under declarant control or membership control, can waive something within the Covenants. However, it's typical for the declarant to have full authority to amend the CC&Rs without membership approval while they are in control.

Thanks Paul and Tim,

My next mission is to get that all important CC&R.

Something else occured to me as kind of a long shot having to do with the State DMV regulations, as you see our community is in Virginia and the truck in question has West Virginia plates? I need to find out if there are any state regulations prohibiting long term parking of an out of state vehicle? I need a plan B if the CC&R is of no help.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Charles,

The only issue about parking vehicles in VA is the personal property tax. This tax is applicable to any vehicle that is normally garaged in the State (irregardless of what State it is registered in) and on all vehicles registered in the State (irregardless of where it is garaged).

If you believe that a vehicle is normally garaged in the state and the owner is not paying this tax, you may report them and, if they are not paying the tax, receive a percentage of the back taxes.
See Frederick County VA tax evader page.

Try sending a letter by certified mail to the company's headquarters and make your complaint known to them. They may throw your letter in the trash or they may ask their employee to park their truck in another parking space. You don't know till you try.

Hello again,

Larry don't you think a letter, phone call or sit down with a lawyer is going to carry more weight? If I do this myself and it falls flat, it might make it more difficult for a lawyer coming afterwards or not? Anyways I am getting ahead of myself, first comes the CC&R review and to see what the management company can do to resolve this situation.

I called the management office today and left a message suggesting it might be advantageous to offer him a 'reserved' space in the satellite/overflow parking lot as a way of enticing him to make moving his truck less bothersome.

Paul another solid idea, and definately worth checking into.

Thanks fellas

True DJ1, but in the process he contaminates his neighbors. Besides, there are many industries that do not directly deal with asbestos proper, but who have employees exposed to it all the same. For instance, nursey workers who were exposed to one of the most lethal forms of asbestos because the vermiculite they used was naturally contaminated with friable Tremolite.