Garage

I live in a town house in Maryland with a garage, my driveway can take two cars. Most of the other town houses don't have a garage/driveway so they got assigned two parking spaces. I received a email from the HOA stating i can only park one car in my driveway as the second car blocks the walkway. When i complained at the meeting they said that i should not have a problem since my garage can hold one car and I can park one in the driveway. Question is. Is that legal? My garage should not be taken into account when taken into consideration the number of parking spaces that exist to be shared among members. I live in MD

Basically i wanted to know can be considered a common area, because one of the HOD directors was saying that i have two spaces the Garage and the driveway (That can contain only one car now). The HOA documents does not contain wordings requiring that the garage must contain a vehicle. The only wording is that i can park up to two cars on the driveway and i have a garage

Not knowing if your Association is made up of fee simple properties or is a condominium, it's difficult to say.

The sidewalk and likely the parking lot/roads would be common area. I suspect that, based on your posts, depending on the size of the vehicles, you could park two vehicles in your driveway without using the garage. You could definitely park two vehicles if one was in the garage.

From what you are posting, it's my understanding that since you have chosen not to park a vehicle in your garage, and now are unable to park a 2nd vehicle in your driveway because it blocks the sidewalk, you want the Association to provide you with a designated parking space (or, perhaps, simply designate all spaces).

Well, personally, based on my own townhouse development, knowing that there are only x amount of parking spaces, I do think that it's fair for the Association to assign parking spaces. It could be argued that assigning parking spaces to some but not to others is not treating everyone equally. However, to see if such an argument is valid, you would likely need to go through the courts. Mind you, the unintended consequence of going through the courts may include: special assessments or increased regular assessments (to pay for the Associations legal fees); properties being left on the market longer due to the unresolved litigation (which may also lower property values); neighbors taking sides in the community which may cause you to lose friends; etc.

Personally, if you want to use your garage for something other than parking your vehicle, that is your option. However, because you made such a choice, you should not expect special treatment by having a common area parking space assigned to you for exclusive use if others with garages don't have a space assigned to them. Instead, you should learn to live with the consequences of your decision and either try to locate an unassigned spot or purchase vehicles whose size will allow you to park two in your driveway without blocking the sidewalk.

It's fee simple

We ( garage homes) all park across the walkway because the hoa permitted this, they said we could park 2 cars on the driveway, there is no way one can park two cars in the driveway without it blocking the walkway) except you park two minis or 2 smart cars, suddenly we had a new bod who now told to two companies to be towing cars that block the walk way, so when I confronted her she said we can still park two so far it does not block the walk way which is another way of saying buy two minis

Another option may be to see if the Association would allow you to increase the width of your driveway, thereby allowing two vehicles to park there side by side. No guarantee that they will allow this modification. However, it's an option that may be worth investigating. If allowed, depending on where the utilities are, it should only cost you a few thousand to do.

No one, in any locale, is legally permitted to block a walkway / sidewalk.

Else, ?why have a walkway at all?

Park correctly/legally.

If you don't like the law/rules where you live...............MOOOOOOVE!

ps. I doubt if the previous BODs stated: 'You may park 2 vehicles in the driveway even if they block the sidewalk'.

They probably said: 'You may park 2 SMALL vehicles providing the do NOT block the sidewalk'.

In any event: the BOD does/did NOT have authority to permit illegal parking.

Most of the townhouses in MD allow this even the town house i lived before moving here and the residents of all other town homes With garages have said the same ,the walkway its not like its going anywhere, it just a walkway that crosses across 5 town homes , and then you have to get back on the street to walk to anywhere else you are going. It was just recently that we knew it was illegal.The HOA for more than 15 years has been okay with this parking arrangement so far we don't park in the visitor's spot

That being said we do accept and we are not disputing anything but my question is, I feel that since other house are sharing the common parking spots and are getting two spaces each , i have one which is my driveway and can hold just one car (legally) , the garage is private property (Which i paid extra for since a Townhome with Garage cost more than one without and there are some houses here that look like "town homes with garage" only that at construction the developer converted the garage to a fourth room and they still got assigned two spaces).

Based on that i think every home with a garage need to be assigned at least one parking spot

I agree in principle.

What do your Covenants and Restrictions say?

I am curious what authority the association would have to tow a car if it is parked on private property. I assume that at least one end of the car is parked on private property in the driveway even if the other end is blocking the sidewalk. Does the association own the sidewalk? Or is the sidewalk deeded to the residence? Or is the sidewalk deeded or dedicated to a public entity?

In the area where I live, the sidewalk is dedicated to the city. If my neighbor blocks the sidewalk I would have no authority to tow his car no matter how much I do not like it. Only the city may tow a car blocking the sidewalk and it is hard to say whether they would if the car is parked mostly on private property.

I also own a large rural parcel with easements for roads between the parcels. I own the road right up to the center line and my neighbor owns the other side. The association owns none of the real estate but it is a public road by virtue of the easements. If I park my car in the road on my side of it the only recourse anyone has to to take me to court and seek an order to compel me to park somewhere else.

BTW, if I lived in a neighborhood where it was dangerous to open my garage door I would find another place to live.

When you purchased your home you should have been given a plat showing at least your own property and most likely a plat showing your entire development. These are normally furnished at or before closing. Plats normally show property lines, the locations of streets and sidewalks, and easements.

If you do not have a plat (map) in your possession, you should be able to obtain a copy from whatever local government agency records deeds. The name of this agency will vary from state to state so maybe someone from MD can direct you to the proper officials. In many areas, unofficial copies of the plats can also be found online. I believe it is customary to file the plats by the names of the developments.

Usually town home foundations are not directly in a row or straight line, so one might be pulled forward and another pushed back two feet or so. Therefore some driveways are longer than others. My neighbors cannot park two Toyotas or two Hondas in their driveway, but we can with ours. Our bylaws show that all the sidewalks and driveway aprons are common area (limited common area in the case of the apron). The common area sidewalks benefit all the residents and no one should be forced to walk in the street. The HOA docs specifically say that you cannot block the sidewalk. Any vehicles are parked so as to entirely block the sidewalk are towed.

The real question seems to be whether the HOA can discriminate on the basis of the garage.

1) Can they dictate usage of a garage to force it to be used for vehicle parking?
2) Can they limit the number of other spaces based on the presence of the garage?

A little confusing. Wondering if you answer a question. If your garage was empty of everything else, can it hold two cars? Concerning the driveway, it does sound like you are blocking the walkway when you park there. Barring a discussion of anyone else's parking habits, are you blocking a walkway by parking across it?

The CCR's where I live state a garage can only be used for parking, no storage or other use. Most neighbors do not comply. Parking is a constant problem and enforcement is poor.

Sorry, but that makes no sense.

Garage: Open garage door with a remote. Drive in. Close door with a remote. Exit vehicle in safety in a lit garage. If someone comes into your garage while it's open, stay safe in your car.

Park Outside: Open car door in the dark, not being able to see who may be hiding where. Spend time walking from the car to the door, again unable to see who is hiding where. Open the door, now giving someone the opportunity to not only surprise you, but to also gain entry to your house via the open door.

OP;

stop blocking the pedestrian walkway

period

try it in a civilized area and your vehicle would be towed in 2 hours BY THE POLICE

Tim,

you are soo polite

myself, I enjoy the banter with the trolls

I also enjoy telemarketers, when they call they hear 'yes' to EVERY question (with various inflections) - one can actually hear the steam hissing from their ears AFTER they hang up on me !

;)

JohnB26 is now PitA1