Vehicle Registration App for HOAs

Started by MarkM19 • 10 replies • 946 views

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MarkM19 (Texas)
Posts: 1,459

Posted:

As with many if not all HOA we have some Parking issues in our large HOA. We have over 50 streets and 1400+ homes. Our CC&Rs say No Street Parking for Homeowners longer 30 minutes. Guest vehicles have a 24 hour time limit. This is very tuff to enforce as who is going to sit and time stamp pictures of cars that exceed 30 minutes? Who is going to know if it is a HO vehicle, Guest visiting or Contractor?

We had a PM (No longer with Management Co.) that had an app that she used that would allow her to run the plates of vehicles and she could tell if they lived in our community. We have recently changed MCs and without this type of app the people that are being paid to do inspections are just guessing who owns the vehicle. We have had many letters get sent to homeowners that the inspectors are presuming owns the cars based on location.

I am a Rules guy and I want the people that break the rules to be noticed. My main concern is if someone is following the rules and they get a notice for a violation they are not responsible for their opinion on the PMC and the Board is very negative.

Does anyone have a reliable app that can be used to run plates and find vehicle registered addresses?

SheliaH (Indiana)
Posts: 6,964

Posted:

If your current property manager doesn't have the app, why not ask that he or she do some research and find out if it exists? Or call your old management company and see if another manager has the information - I would think the former PM wasn't the only one using the app.

Then again, why not just Google it yourself - I found some resources online, so you can do the same.

You might also rethink this policy in light of the current COVID-19 outbreak because lots of people are now staying home and so you'll see more cars. As you've already admitted, this is difficult to enforce because it's unrealistic to expect someone to date and time stamp photos of cars that have been on the street longer than 30 minutes. CCRs can be amended - why not poll the community to see what parking issues are more problematic and then brainstorm ideas? From there, you can read your documents to see how CCRs are amended (do that with guidance from your association attorney so the rule will stick)

If it is not right do not do it; if it is not true do not say it. Marcus Aurelius

DeidreB (Virginia)
Posts: 113

Posted:

Mark, we had the same issues you describe. We researched Parking Boss, an app designed by a former HOA board member.

Per house, it is very affordable and easily budgeted for. It is also scaleable in enforcement measures.

The founder and CEO was easy to talk to so I suggest you give him a call. See link below.

We unfortunately did not purchase the app because we had board members and many residents who did not want to give up their improper parking practices.
.
https://parkingboss.com/

MarkM19 (Texas)
Posts: 1,459

Posted:

SheliaH,
Our New PMC who we just switched to this year is not comfortable with using the License plate apps because of the time inspections take in a Community our size. They are very willing to work with our Board but I feel like need to find a solution that we are happy with before giving them direction. I also have searched Google. Yes you do see a few different apps out there but most are cumbersome and do more or less than we actually need. All we really need is a site that lets you input a plate and gives you the address it is registered too. No more no less information is needed.

I am kind of surprised by your suggestion to try and change the CC&Rs. You have posted over 3000 times on this site so you must know that this is a silly suggestion. In our case we would need over 970 homeowners to not only vote to change the CC&Rs but to vote in favor of a change in the same direction. Not ever going to happen. We have people on both side of this issue and half of the HOs have never taken the time to read the actual rules they are to abide by. Most say they want less on street parking until they need it for themselves. Many others use their garages for everything other than parking their cars.

After being on boards for over 10 years I know that this problem will exist till cars are no longer on the Planet. The goal here is try to find away to fairly enforce the Rules as written with the fewest errors.

DeidreB,
I filled out the online request for info on the site you suggested andwill see what they can offer as a solution.

Thanks

SheliaH (Indiana)
Posts: 6,964

Posted:

You're correct that lots of homeowners don't even read the CCRs, let alone comply with them, although that's what they agreed to when they bought their homes in a HOA community. The problem is the time and expense you'll need to enforce them. Sometimes, that's part of the game, and sometimes the problem is that the rule is slightly flawed and needs to be tweaked.

No, changing CCRs isn't easy, but it's not impossible - it's a matter of how much work people (not just you) are willing to do. Just because something isn't easy doesn't mean you don't get to do it or can avoid doing it. I was on my board for 10 years and I know you'll never convince some folks, but if I can get most of them to stop and think a moment, we may be able to move towards positive change in the community. This also means telling people what can (and will) happen if they don't.

But, you know your community, so do you - I hope you find what you're looking for.

If it is not right do not do it; if it is not true do not say it. Marcus Aurelius

MarkW18
Posts: 1,290

Posted:

Mark

Being you're from California, you might appreciate this newsletter piece from a legal firm.

Rules Enforcement. Should we suspend parking rules? College kids are coming home, so there are lots of extra cars in the community. -Bob W.

RESPONSE: Earlier this week, Los Angeles indefinitely suspended parking tickets for street-sweeping violations. It would make sense for boards to suspend enforcement of rules that are somehow impacted by the coronavirus. Parking seems to be one of those rules. Boards need to be smart about how they handle this unprecedented crisis. They should not be heavy-handed and make the situation worse.

MarkM19 (Texas)
Posts: 1,459

Posted:

MarkW18,
Just for the records I luckily escaped California nearly 3 years ago. I do appreciate your note and heads up on the College kids. Yes we do think we will have extra vehicles during this crazy time we are going through. I am sure we will have to do as many other communities and adjust things to meet todays demands. We have done Parking Holidays in the past when it is a busy time of year for visitors.

LetA (Nevada)
Posts: 2,679

Posted:

Honestly, I would just enforce and fine those that either park over sidewalks, double parking, parking between two homesites, block driveways, block crosswalks or park too close to a stop sign or parking at the corners of the intersection.

ND (PA)
Posts: 792

Posted:

To try and enforce this rule in its entirety is an impossible task unless you track all vehicles coming and going in your neighborhood. You can't track guests/visitors since that would be a constantly changing list of vehicles with information having to be provided in a timely manner to the HOA for it to be relevant . . . unless you are able to collect it at entry points . . . maybe you have guarded/monitored access. The only way I can think of getting after the issue (and only part of it) is if you require all residents to register all their permanent vehicles with the HOA.

To do this efficiently, you need a system like what police utilize that has vehicle-mounted equipment (camera) and a database of license plates with software that links the two and provides you the desired output/results.

Search for "Mobile License Plate Recognition (LPR)" . . . several options out there.

Unless you can capture plates of temporary vehicles (visitors, contractors, etc.) and associate them with a home, I suggest you just ignore any vehicle that isn't one of your permanent, resident vehicles. Since you don't know what temp vehicle to associate with which house, this would be extremely difficult to track and enforce. And what happens when those temp vehicles move 5 feet down the street or leave and come back the next day. Does that start a new 24-hr clock or no?

My thought on your situation is with that many homes you aren't likely to run out of street parking. You probably just have a few Board Members and homeowners who are sticklers for the most nit-picky of rules and don't like that other vehicles may be parked in front of or nearby their home. Their is this weird sense of "ownership" for some people of strip of street right in front of their home where they think the parking belongs to them. It does not. Worst case is that small pockets of the neighborhood might fill up at which point other people's visitors will need to park a bit further away. Of course there is the occasion of a handful of homeowners who seem to own 20 cars or have that many visitors constantly, at which point that situation might be considered a nuisance and addressed individually.

JohnC46 (South Carolina)
Posts: 14,265

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By ND on 03/19/2020 9:43 AM
To try and enforce this rule in its entirety is an impossible task unless you track all vehicles coming and going in your neighborhood. You can't track guests/visitors since that would be a constantly changing list of vehicles with information having to be provided in a timely manner to the HOA for it to be relevant . . . unless you are able to collect it at entry points . . . maybe you have guarded/monitored access. The only way I can think of getting after the issue (and only part of it) is if you require all residents to register all their permanent vehicles with the HOA.

To do this efficiently, you need a system like what police utilize that has vehicle-mounted equipment (camera) and a database of license plates with software that links the two and provides you the desired output/results.

Search for "Mobile License Plate Recognition (LPR)" . . . several options out there.

Unless you can capture plates of temporary vehicles (visitors, contractors, etc.) and associate them with a home, I suggest you just ignore any vehicle that isn't one of your permanent, resident vehicles. Since you don't know what temp vehicle to associate with which house, this would be extremely difficult to track and enforce. And what happens when those temp vehicles move 5 feet down the street or leave and come back the next day. Does that start a new 24-hr clock or no?

My thought on your situation is with that many homes you aren't likely to run out of street parking. You probably just have a few Board Members and homeowners who are sticklers for the most nit-picky of rules and don't like that other vehicles may be parked in front of or nearby their home. Their is this weird sense of "ownership" for some people of strip of street right in front of their home where they think the parking belongs to them. It does not. Worst case is that small pockets of the neighborhood might fill up at which point other people's visitors will need to park a bit further away. Of course there is the occasion of a handful of homeowners who seem to own 20 cars or have that many visitors constantly, at which point that situation might be considered a nuisance and addressed individually.

Sound advice.

MarkM19 (Texas)
Posts: 1,459

Posted:

ND,
You are exactly right. This problem is always created by Developers who copy and paste CC&Rs from one community to the next. They want the Streets to look clear and car free so that the homes sell fast and for the best price. This is a BOMB that they leave for future Board Members to deal with IMO.

I am a Rules guy so I want to try and do the best for the HOs. Because of the way the rule reads it is impossible to enforce in my opinion. We have 1 board member that hates street parking on (her) block. It makes her crazy and she demands that the rules be enforced constantly. She could care less about all the other rules in the CC&Rs just parking. She makes the case all the time that we are not doing our job if we can't stop street parking. I guess technically she is right but it is an impossible task. If the inspectors enforce it for her and everyone of our 49 other blocks don't get enforced the same way we are using selective enforcement. This in my opinion is far more dangerous.

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