Pickup Trucks

This was posted in a newsletter by an attorney this morning. Thought it would be interesting reading.

BANNING TRUCKS

QUESTION: Our association bans pickups from parking overnight in driveways or in common areas. Parking in garages is permitted since the vehicles aren’t visible when they are in a garage. Our CC&Rs date back to the 70s and, as I understand it, things have changed in 40+ years. Can we still legally ban pickup trucks from parking in driveways and common areas overnight?

ANSWER: Yes, a lot has changed in the past 40 years--computers, cell phones, the internet, drones, recreational marijuana...and trucks. If you allow cars to park in driveways and common areas, you have to allow pickup trucks.

Case Law. This issue was addressed in a 1987 case, Bernardo Villas Management v. Black. The association had a CC&R provision that "No truck, camper, trailer, boat of any kind or other form of recreational vehicle may be parked in the development." Such restrictions were quite common and boards were obligated to enforce them.

A resident in Bernardo Villas bought a pickup which he used solely for personal transportation and parked in his carport. The board did its duty and sued the resident for violating the CC&Rs. Much to everyone's surprise, the trial court found the restriction unreasonable. Convinced the court got it wrong, the association appealed.

The court of appeal also sided with truck owners and agreed the restriction was unreasonable. The court noted that, "As times change, cultural perceptions--including society's acceptance of certain types of vehicles--also change. The pickup truck no longer has a pejorative connotation. One person's Bronco II is another's Rolls-Royce." The court added that beauty, even with cars, is in the eye of the beholder.

The next time you're on a freeway, look for pickup trucks. You will notice lots of them--Chevy Silverados, Dodge Rams, Toyota Tacomas, Ford F-150s, and scores of others of all shapes and sizes. The Ford F-150 has the distinction of being the most popular motor vehicle of all time. It has been the best-selling vehicle in the United States for over 30 years.

Pickups used as work trucks with signage, racks and tools can still be banned. Pickups used strictly for personal transportation cannot.

I read this too, and am glad Richard posted it as it seems this topic is one of the most frequent on this forum.

Is it correct to say that case law, even CA case law can be referred to in other states?

Which is interesting to me, as I'd never even heard of this being an issue until I came to this forum. Work trucks, yes, but not pickups merely used as personal vehicles. I can see four of them in neighbors' driveways from my window as I'm typing this. It must be a regional thing, because it would never fly here in Minnesota; way too many people use them as everyday vehicles, even in very affluent areas.

Big honking pickup trucks parked in driveways down the street for a thousand feet certainly detract from the ambiance of my community, blocking the otherwise nice view.

"The pickup truck no longer has a pejorative connotation." That's not true. Thanks for legislating "correct thinking" and social justice from the bench there, California judges. They obviously haven't lived in my neck of the woods. Beneath contempt.

People that used to be bankers are now plumbers?

Really?

Or is this a veiled version of the the guy who said he used to be a doctor, before he figured out plumbers make more money?

What got my attention is that a court ignored the covenant's verbatim reading and decided what was reasonable, without the presence of more sweeping statutory authority. E.g. nationwide, even if CC&Rs say a HOA is restricted to caucasians or gentiles, because of federal and state law, these CC&Rs, that discriminate on the basis of race or religion, would be struck instantly as unlawful.

Bernardo Villas Management v. Black (a) dates all the way back to 1987; (b) yet has been cited in just a few other cases subsequently, and only in California; and (c) relies on California Civil Code 1354, which states in part.

1354. (a) The covenants and restrictions in the declaration shall be enforceable equitable servitudes, unless unreasonable...

The full opinion is at https://law.justia.com/cases/california/court-of-appeal/3d/190/153.html .

I could be wrong, but at present, I have some doubts about how widely applicable this precedent, and the legal concept, is outside California. Courts want HOAs and their members to follow their governing documents. The governing documents are a contract. The contract is all that keeps HOAs and members on the same page. California's statute, pertaining to reasonable covenants, and the Bernardo case perhaps empowers Californians. I am not sure it has much applicability outside California.

Hi Richard, I am not sure I understand your question. The 1987 California decision seems fine to me. What I wonder is whether there are other, Declarant-written, unambiguous covenants that were stricken because a court said the covenant was unreasonable (again, setting aside covenants that unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, religion, et cetera). It seems to be rare. For example:

Nahrstedt v. Lakeside Village Condominium Assn, California, 1994 talks about the "reasonable standard" and the importance of respecting CC&Rs. A covenant prohibited cats at a condominium. The trial court said unreasonable and struck the covenant. The appeals court reversed. See https://law.justia.com/cases/california/supreme-court/4th/8/361.html.

Aragon v. Brown, New Mexico, 2003 talks about the "reasonable" standard. A covenant prohibited manufactured homes. The trial court said "unreasonable" and struck the covenant. The appeals court reversed. See https://law.justia.com/cases/new-mexico/court-of-appeals/2003/f580-21241-21867.html.

The OP's CCRs stated no trucks. Question would be why can't there be any trucks and is the rules fair and reasonable. Circumstances do change over times and documents may have to be interpreted differently. For instance, many CCRs will state no businesses out of homes. Well, in the 70's, prior to technology, a business out of a home probably would look a lot different than today. One in the 70's could be a distribution center with comings and going all day long. Today, I could have a consulting business with a business license operating as my main office. I might have a couple of clients over during the week but do much of my consulting in their office, but my HOA address would show as the business address.

the majority of CCRs are boilerplate documents and that very same document could be found in multiple location just under different HOA names. I have had to amend two that were erroneously put into place by an attorney and developer. They were for attached condos and the developments were detached PUDs. The attorney refused to fix and the developers had gone out of business.

Good points and which is why some HOA’s who dig in will loose some court cases ... ALSO is a reason why states keep changing and updating their Laws to take care of items which they should not potentially be involved ... WHY ... because of HOA’s who will dig in instead of being “reasonable” and forcing the States to take actions. PLEASE ... let's all start using “Common Sense”. Potentially put yourself in the position of any other homeowner regarding an issue ... and ask what would I expect or how would I want to be treated under this circumstance. Then consider why our Country was founded along with what is contained in our Constitution. Potentially we now have too many who are willing to step all over other people’s private property rights ... this is what the Courts look at ...

IMO, the commercial vehicle clause is discriminatory for so many reason. If I worked for State Farm as a Claims Adjuster, my company car, which I take home, has a State Farm logo on it.

Not know what state you are from but even the County rule might poise a problem. For instance an Ford F250 with a bed of 6.75 ft would pass, but one with a 8 ft bed (which would pull a 5th wheeler) would not.

My last HOA banned overnight parking of commercial vehicles. We had issues. Two identical mini-vans. One with no signage, one with Airport Limo Service signage. We ruled the limo was commercial.

A Ford Explorer with the name of a Real Estate Company on the back window. We ruled it commercial.

We had to rule on a F450 that had a 5th wheel hook-up in the bed. We ruled not commercial.

SC has another quirk. Commercial Plates for a vehicle to be able to park in loading and unloading zones. Like a Corvette having Commercial Plates. We had to rule on that one as not being Commercial.

We had someone complain that the cruiser of a State Police Officer was commercial as it had signage. We ruled an exception for public safety vehicles. That did open up us up to ambulances but we never had to address it.

Each home in the HOA did have a 2 or 3 car garage and one could park anything in there they wanted to park so we could be tough on the rules for outside, overnight parking. Overnight street parking was not allowed but another issue.

Richard - RE: State Farm vehicle - That's used for commercial pursuits and the signage deems that a commercial vehicle. We would not allow this. Most folks would have a personal vehicle in addition to the State Farm vehicle which just compounds the problem of the lack of availability of parking. That just would not fly in our community.

I understand the multiple vehicle issue but most HOAs can control the number of vehicles owners park in common parking areas (they should not be concerned with public streets). What if the person is a business owner and the car with a logo is also their personal vehicle? Would that also not fly?

Mike,

I bought in TN. It has an HOA but zero amenities.
Assessment: $50 a year (per the covenants).

1/2 to 2/3 acre lots with three or four car garages (oversized).
Additionally, long driveways. I could easily park 10 cars on the property (between the garages and driveway) with plenty of room to walk around the vehicles and open doors.
The builder did it right.

Simply take what you learned from living in your HOA and verify everything prior to purchase (I had a contingency on reviewing the governing documents written into the contract).

Tim - ..long time - You have my email - We're looking at TN as well.
Shoot me an email. Thanks.