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DanielM12 (California)
Posts: 21
Posted:
Hi, All --

Here's the situation. Each unit in our community is assigned (by deed) one covered parking space. The deeded covered parking space may not be located outside of your building. The order and assignment of the deeded spaces was done by the developer in 1981; trying to change the order appears to be a nightmare. All of the other parking spaces on the property are "common area," so they are available to residents, vendors, guests. Our parking rules are few: don't back in, don't park in a common area space in excess of 72 hours, maintain current registration on plates.

Recently, the adult son of a resident purchased a second vehicle. He parks his new car in the deeded spot. Mom and sister park in common area spaces. Adult son sometimes parks the old car in common area spaces. When available, the adult son parks the old car in the closest most common area space to their unit, which happens to be a highly coveted common area space. When mom or sister arrive home, he more often than not moves the old car out of that common area space and then mom or sister park there. There is no shortage of common area spaces.

Over the weekend, another resident who also likes to use this common area spot confronted mom. Resident told mom that the family is not being a good neighbor by keeping one of their vehicles in the common area space almost continuously. Resident pointed out that while no letter of the rule has been violated, monopolizing the space certainly violates basic spirit of the rules. The family does not keep any one vehicle there for more than 72 hours, but if the space is vacant when they return, the family often parks in the common area space.

The parking rules are silent with respect to time limit reset. For example, if I park in a common area space Friday night when I get home from work and don't move my car again until Monday morning when I go to work, but find the space is vacant when I return from work Monday, I didn't break the 72 hour rule by parking there again.

Given that the space is highly coveted, my initial thought is to put up a no parking sign in the spot for a week or two. My thinking is, allow everyone to cool off. If everyone can't agree to get along and use the spot in the spirit of the rules, then no one gets to use it.

I would also like to amend our parking rules so that they are more specific about the time limit for a unit not an individual vehicle. We don't register vehicles by unit (or at all), so we wouldn't necessarily know which unit the vehicle in a common area space belongs to, but many times we do know because there are so few residents.

Has anyone had similar issues? How did you handle the issue? But in general, I welcome your advice and feedback. As president of your association or a board member, what would you do to address this issue?

We are in California, by the way.

Thanks,
Daniel


--Daniel
LarryB13 (Arizona)
Posts: 4,099
Posted:
Daniel,

Your rules are fine just the way they are. Your only parking problem is the idiot neighbor who wants to fight over one particular parking space. Break his legs so he can park in the handicap space. Or maybe inform him that if he has a parking issue he should attend a board meeting rather than argue in the parking lot with other owners.

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059
Posted:
Daniel,

If the parking is first come first serve, then that is what it is.

In my opinion, if the rules are being complied with and the vehicles are properly registered, then it's not an Association issue.

If you want to make it an Association issue, draw up a parking plan for the Board to consider.
RichardP13 (California)
Posts: 3,868
Posted:
First off, you don't have any HIGHLY coveted parking spaces, just parking spaces that you say are abundant. the 72 hours parking rule should be used to combat "stored vehicles" as there should be no allowance for those types of vehicles.

How do you create a rule to regulate time for a unit, when you don't register the individual cars?

Being that there is no shortage of spaces, which generally is unusual, then as others have said, "first come, first serve".
JohnC46 (South Carolina)
Posts: 14,265
Posted:
Daniel

First come, first served.
DanM9 (Massachusetts)
Posts: 23
Posted:
Doesn't sound like a problem to me. You just have a whiny resident who doesn't get the space they want.

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