Handicapped Parking

We are a small California HOA with 30 homes. We have no common area buildings or parking areas or parking stalls. We do have a no parking on the street from 2:am - 5:00am rule that has never been enforced in the 20 years I have lived here. The board now wants to enforce this rule.
the Vehicle Code (section 22311.5) states "a disabled placard allows you to park for unlimited periods in ANY space that is restricted as to the length of time parking is permitted."

would the above include private streets of an association?

Jill,

With private roads, the board has the right to enforce parking restrictions.
Note: parking restrictions should be in the covenants, vs. a resolution (common area rule).

However, under the fair housing act, reasonable accommodation would also have to be allowed.

Expecting that you would have to allow the vehicle with the placard park on the street, you may find that many will see this as selective enforcement on others. Of course, it's not selective enforcement, but that could be the perception. Therefore, the board may need to educate the membership prior to enforcement.

In addition, per your posting, the rule/covenant hasn't been enforced for 20 years.
If someone were to challenge the enforcement in court, the Association could end up having that rule nullified by the court.

If this has helped muddy the waters, the board may want a legal opinion before starting enforcement.

JillS8, that your HOA Board would consider issuing a parking citation in this instance to someone with a (not so easy to get) handicapped parking placard disappoints. I think whatever the HOA has to pay the HOA attorney to educate them on basic fair housing law would be worth it.

Large driveways but very steep whereas the street is flat and more manageable for this owner

That was my first thought too: what's wrong with the garage? If it's a one-car garage and the owner has a large van that they need to get a wheelchair into and out of, the garage may not work. It also may not work if the garage is big enough but filled to the brim with junk, in which case I'd be giving this a little side-eye. It's also possible that parking on the driveway won't work for some reason (violation of CC&Rs? worried that the vehicle will roll into the street?).

I'm trying to think why having to climb up what's sounds like a step grade from the street is in any way a better solution or a "reasonable accommodation" for someone who is disabled. There are plenty of able-bodied folks who would want to avoid that.