HOA Restrictions: No Resident Curbside Parking (Plano, Murphy: high school, gated, closing)

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by BigDGeek

Be sure to come back and tell us how it all goes. I'd be interested in knowing whether it's legal to tow a legally parked car on a city-owned street, HOA or not. It'll certainly influence where I purchase my next house, if I ever move.

If his HOA's CCRs are in order it is 100% legal for them to tow cars that are in violation of the CCRs. Period.

[cordata]

If we assume this is a city owned and maintained street, does the parking prohibition apply only to the HOA residents ?

In other words, can I as a non-resident park in the street ?

Why or why not ?

[Aceraceae]

I live in a HOA and we've not had any issues.

[MurphyPl1]

Originally Posted by BigDGeek

I'll reiterate: I'm glad I don't live in a neighborhood burdened by an HOA. FWIW, I park my car in my garage every day.

And honestly there are lots of nice neighborhoods that don't have them. And you (general) definitely have the option to choose one of those. But dangit, if you're going to *choose* to live in one with an HOA and sign the covenant between you and your neighbors agreeing to abide by the rules, then do it. It's no different than any other organization. If your kid wants to play basketball on a team and they have a no purple hair rule and you signed the agreement, then don't come to a game with purple hair.

[aexchange]

Originally Posted by MurphyPl1

And honestly there are lots of nice neighborhoods that don't have them. And you (general) definitely have the option to choose one of those. But dangit, if you're going to *choose* to live in one with an HOA and sign the covenant between you and your neighbors agreeing to abide by the rules, then do it. It's no different than any other organization. If your kid wants to play basketball on a team and they have a no purple hair rule and you signed the agreement, then don't come to a game with purple hair.

Not to be snarky, but using this analogy, if the HOA was the coach of the team, your kid with purple hair ends up being thrown in jail for the parent to bail them out rather than being sent home.

We should all seek to be reasonable in the course of our dealings with one another. Towing someone's car is a bit of an over reach IMHO.

[TX4P]

Originally Posted by carroll4628

I don't believe you mentioned the fine for parking on the street (or any violation). Our HOA just raised the first notice fine from $25 to $50. (This is the first change in the 8 years the HOA has existed.) 2nd fine went to $100 and 3rd fine (for the same infraction that has not been resolved) is now $250. If the violator is a renter, I'm sure the home owner isn't going to want these fines added to their annual HOA dues. Are the fines too lenient that no one pays attention to them? I'm not sure if different violations can warrant different fines? You might check on that. Say "garbage can visible vs. painting the house".

Our biggest issue is our trailer (and the neighbors boat/trailer, the other neighbors RV, etc.) If the trailer is in the driveway for more than a day (while loading, after returning from vacation, etc.), we usually receive a notice within a few days. It's actually a running joke. I've pull our trailer out at 7am and my neighbor at 10am Monday morning. I didn't get a fine, but she did.

I lived in drought stricken Atlanta a few years back and the fine for watering when you weren't suppose to was $100. Our HOA president paid over $1000 that year to keep his lawn green (and bragged about it). It was worth it for him. Unfortunately, some folks will choose to pay the fine instead of fix whatever the violation might be. I really think your only recourse is financial.

There is a $25 fine of which I believe has been imposed. Of course, that's after courtesy notice has already been sent but ignored. I don't actually handle the notices/fines that are sent, however. Still, notices haven't worked. Fines haven't worked. As for a progressive increase in fines, we don't have something like that in place. We could easily implement it, yet I still highly doubt it would make any difference.

The idea of tacking the unpaid fines to HOA dues is an option we've discussed, as well.

Our restrictions allow trailers for up to no more than 3 days (think Friday through Sunday, gone by Monday). We've had issues there and have sent courtesy notices, and the issue has been resolved. No further action was necessary.

We're not that detailed to expect neighbors to keep their grass green. Whatever the local watering schedule is is what we allow.

Originally Posted by MurphyPl1

We actually don't have that restriction in our CCRs but it comes up periodically as it is an issue that occurs from time to time (and generally goes away once the teenaged kids or BIL moves out). So it's been asked of two different property management companies and we clearly have no grounds to enforce that. But even if it were to be proposed and pass with a 67% majority of our homes, it would be unenforceable since our covenant is with the homeowner and their property. There is no covenant between the HOA and the City to prohibit on street parking.

And honestly, if it were enforceable, I'm with those who thinks it's the least neighborly thing you can do. And that's who these people are - your neighbors. If the streets truly are that narrow that it limits larger vehicles going thru, then I suggest you talk to the police and fire departments. Fire because they need to be able to get fire trucks and ambulances thru, and police because they may have policies already in place to address that.

The average driveway length here is 60-70', enough to park 3 to 4 average length vehicles. Driveways run along the property line and swing around into the garage which opens facing the neighboring home. Many residents have that many vehicles, and many of them have no problem playing musical cars. It simply boils down to those who blatantly disregard and ignore the parking restriction as doing so for their own convenience, which most of the times translates to laziness. Garages could be cleaned out and allow for additional parking, but I have yet to see that happen.

I'm all for being neighborly. But, the question is: do the violators believe the same? They have no regard for basic restrictions, and they have no problem advertising it. Our President has spoken to, on a number of occasions, the violator nearest to me. They park their vehicles on the street at all hours of the day. Notices have been sent. Conversations have been had. Fines have been imposed. It has made no difference.

Originally Posted by MurphyPl1

Do you have a management company? If so, then you should already have an attorney available to you. For a cost of course.

Our HOA is self-managed by a Board of its own residents. I've given thought to contacting a management company, but I'm sure their is a cost (I could be wrong). If you have resources, I would love to consider calling them and discussing with other board members any options available.

Originally Posted by cordata

If we assume this is a city owned and maintained street, does the parking prohibition apply only to the HOA residents ?

In other words, can I as a non-resident park in the street ?

Why or why not ?

Yes, it applies to residents only. Visitors are allowed to park for up to no more than 3 days; delivery trucks and the like are also permitted to park on the street since they are only doing so for a very short time.

[TX4P]

Originally Posted by MurphyPl1

And honestly there are lots of nice neighborhoods that don't have them. And you (general) definitely have the option to choose one of those. But dangit, if you're going to *choose* to live in one with an HOA and sign the covenant between you and your neighbors agreeing to abide by the rules, then do it. It's no different than any other organization. If your kid wants to play basketball on a team and they have a no purple hair rule and you signed the agreement, then don't come to a game with purple hair.

By far, the most brilliant, common sense response I've seen on this topic. Thank you. I agree 110%.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by aexchange

Not to be snarky, but using this analogy, if the HOA was the coach of the team, your kid with purple hair ends up being thrown in jail for the parent to bail them out rather than being sent home.

We should all seek to be reasonable in the course of our dealings with one another. Towing someone's car is a bit of an over reach IMHO.

Excepting emergencies cars are only towed after several written communications. The idea that cars are towed when spotted improperly parked is just not reality.

[TX4P]

Originally Posted by EDS_

Excepting emergencies cars are only towed after several written communications. The idea that cars are towed when spotted improperly parked is just not reality.

Mind you, there is still some leg work to be done and solidifying a schedule for implementation. Courtesy notices would continue as we do already. The idea of towing vehicles after a certain number of notices (three strikes, you're out), then towing the vehicle if spotted parked in violation is the intended end result that still needs to be approved by the Board and communicated to the residents.

This is still a work in progress if it's even approved by the Board. This is simply an idea I'm exploring. It is very likely I will use this thread and any responses (as well as outside feedback) to determine whether this level of enforcement is within reach, legally.

[cully]

Originally Posted by TX4P

Mind you, there is still some leg work to be done and solidifying a schedule for implementation. Courtesy notices would continue as we do already. The idea of towing vehicles after a certain number of notices (three strikes, you're out), then towing the vehicle if spotted parked in violation is the intended end result that still needs to be approved by the Board and communicated to the residents.

This is still a work in progress if it's even approved by the Board. This is simply an idea I'm exploring. It is very likely I will use this thread and any responses (as well as outside feedback) to determine whether this level of enforcement is within reach, legally.

Can you tell me why is the HOA board regulating anything to do with the citiy? Why doesn't the city do that? Since they are taking some ownership of the streets in regulating what goes on there, what else does the HOA do for the streets? Any responsibility for their care?

In brief, would it not be less a headache for the board if the city took total care of the city streets?