Disabled Parking Snaffewww??

Our HOA Board recently got an email from a homeowner. It appears as though our secured parking garage only has 2 disabled parking spaces in it. ( for homeowner use) Recently there has been a small mini van parked in one of them and hasn't been moved in a week according to her. The homeowner who wrote this has a disabled placard just like the other cars in the space. She is asking the board to investigate who's van this is and ask that they move it because she fears it's being housed for a non-homeowner.

In looking at our cc&rs there is nothing in regard to maintaining any regulation over the garage cars except that they have recent registration tags and only cars with placards can park in the identified spot. ( which they all do )

I fear that this is a first come first serve issue and that the homeowner who is asking us to intervene is off base on what the HOA can do. ( dont' feel too bad for her, she has to only park over 2 spots, she is fearful her new schmacy car will get a ding in the regular spot. )

Noelle,

No matter what the H.O fears are, she is correct in her asking about the van being parked for over a week in that space. Has anyone bothered to check iif there is a dead body in it? The garage is part of hOA property and even if it is not addressed specifically, which I doubt, it is part of HOA property and falls under the rules and care of the HOA.

Why not add another space or 2 of handicap parking if there are not a suffiecent number of spaces? The "fancy, schmantzy" car remark is not nescessary. I'd get mad if my 2 year old vehicle got a ding.

Noelle,

Then you change the exhisting spaces to handicapped. They can be done with a temporary sign. This should not be a big deal. The lady in question?? Give her a handicapped space where she is now parking. If these spaces are assigned, then where is the van units designated space?

We had a car parked in our lot for three weeks that hadn't moved. I finally went on our state's website and typed in the license plate number and lo and behold, it had been reported as stolen. I called the police department from the city where it was stolen from and they took care of the rest.

Could you possibly put a very cordial note on the car's windshield asking them to contact the manager or the board saying something like....people noticed the vehicle hasn't moved and wondered if they were having mechanical problems and wondered if they needed your assistance in any way?

Just a thought.

I like you idea Anne, will do this. Sometimes people have a second vehicle that they just don't use that much... maybe this is the case.

Maybe the Van owners are in Cuba on vacation for a week or two. That doesn't sound like an unusual amount of time for a vehicle to sit.

Donna,
You got my vote. No doubt about it, the property is common property and this business of calling it private is suspect. It might be assigned common property (limited) but the property does not convey with a deed. I can not see how. Being common property makes it the Board responsibility and I sure don't see it as snooping around if the car has not been moved in weeks. Go down and chalk the tire for lord's sake. Handicap parking does not give anyone the right to take over a parking space. Is it contended that these two handicap parking spaces are deeded to specific units. That's crazy. The assignment of a specific parking space may convey with a specific property but dollars to doughnuts it don't belong to them nor do they have a deed nor do they pay taxes on this specific piece of property. This assignment may increase the value of the property for some reason, but more than likely there are favored spots and you can't help that, if you are going to accept the assignment as written in stone, and then you need a parking drawing showing each space and who it is assigned to, not just the number. It is the Boards responsibility to provide reasonable security and care of the common property. Tell me, who cleans the area and who paints the numbers and who paints the striping? Do individual property owners do that, who is responsible for the ceiling of that parking space? I would be concerned that your board is on thin ice if they don't know
who is parking on their property. Who repairs and damage to the column structures if someone damages them? The home owner? Suppose the homeowner didn't do it and don't know who did it, is he going to say it is my property, I will pay, suppose the column sits between the two parking spaces? Suppose the damage is to a structure that has no attachment to any "Deeded" parking space? Even a shopping mall is responsible for the security of their parking spaces. Someone suggested make another handicap parking space, sounds reasonable.

I also detect that Noelle has some hang up about a "smancy car" (sic) that an owner has, who happens to be handicapped. I would suggest that kind of opinion is left unpublished and unspoken. Sorry Noelle, not attacking you, just making an observation.

Donna,
Doesn't surprise me. We had one that sort of touched on that and was settled by a little give and take and switching parking spaces. I don't know what you would do, if, indeed these spaces were individually OWNED.

Hey Rpbert I even admitted that I shouldn't of said that. But thanks for the reminder on courtesy... ( post #2 below me I stated that.. ) Sorry if I raised hairs with my Schmancy comment.. was trying to be funny

You'd be surprised how many Americans we've met in Cuba. I understand your gov't is looking at changing the rules to remove the restrictions.