Parking regulations - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

kerry · #1 01-13-2015, 08:28 PM

One of our rental properties has 2 hr street parking. I go over there at 8am this morning to do some work and stay for about an hour. Return home to get tools and eat breakfast. Return to the property and park on the other side of the street this time. I work inside for about 40 minutes and come back out to my truck for some material and there's a parking ticket on it. I see the ticket officer down the street and go ask her why I got a ticket since I was only parked for an hour. She tells me I've been parked there since 845 when she first marked my truck. I say, no, I was parked across the street, left for about an hour and then returned. She tells me that's the same as staying there the whole time. Leaving and returning and parking across the street is the same thing as staying there two hours. WTF? If the truck is within 100 feet of its original parking space it 'hasn't moved'. What kind of nonsense is that? I say the sign only says 2 hr parking only. It doesn't say you can't leave and then come back. She tells me that when I got a driver's license I was informed of all these subtleties of the law and I deserved the ticket. Christ almighty!

Skippy · #2 01-13-2015, 08:32 PM

Check the statute. If you're right, take it to court.

kerry · #3 01-13-2015, 08:35 PM

54-420 "Where any section of this article, or any sign posted pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, prohibits parking in excess of any stated period of time in any given parking space or other designated area, a vehicle shall be considered in violation of that restriction if it has not been moved at least one hundred (100) feet from that parking space or designated area during the stated period of time or if the vehicle is moved to within one hundred (100) feet of that parking space or designated area within twenty-four (24) hours."

spdrun · #4 01-13-2015, 08:39 PM

Is there any provision for property owners to get parking permits to exempt them from the 2 hr rule?

I'd say take it to court anyway -- if the block is longer than 100' and the ticket isn't very specific as far as location, nothing wrong with a bit of creative perjury. OF COURSE I moved the truck from one end of the block to another, Your Honor.

Unless there's evidence like camera footage of both locations of the truck, that introduces reasonable doubt right there. It's a BS rule, and there's nothing morally wrong with lying to get yourself out of highway robbery by the city.

kerry · #5 01-13-2015, 08:45 PM

Yes, residents can get a permit. She said she took pictures. The statute is not clear to me. I definitely moved the truck more than 100 feet in the two hour window and I have a restaurant receipt to prove it. But I did park within 100 feet, across the street when I returned.
I've lived here for 25 yrs, parking on the streets with hour limits and I've never heard of this before. They used to just chalk people's tires so all they could tell was if the vehicle moved. I wonder if they changed the statute or started enforcing the statute once the meter maids started taking photos. I noticed they stopped chalking tires about a year ago.

spdrun · #6 01-13-2015, 08:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kerry

Yes, residents can get a permit. She said she took pictures.

Look up any state requirements for signage. If you can find a sign on your block that's obscured for any reason and get a picture, you can use that in court. Even if a few signs that weren't in the thieving PoS's pictures happen to disappear ... wink-wink.

Also, do you have commercial plates on your truck? Are there any exemptions for commercial vehicles of tradesmen -- I'd find it hard to believe that plumbers or electricians have to move 100 ft every 2 hr.

JB3 · #7 01-13-2015, 11:52 PM

Fight it. Her pictures will back you up, since they will show different backgrounds at different times with no identical landmarks if she took from the sidewalks

Supports exactly what say your use is. Ticketing legitimate local business over minutiae is BS.

mpolli · #8 01-14-2015, 12:33 AM

That's a real BS ordinance IMHO. He is your problem:

"Where any section of this article, or any sign posted pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, prohibits parking in excess of any stated period of time in any given parking space or other designated area, a vehicle shall be considered in violation of that restriction if ... the vehicle is moved to within one hundred (100) feet of that parking space or designated area within twenty-four (24) hours."

So for example, the sign says 1 hour parking, I show up at noon and stay for 10 minutes to get coffee somewhere. Then I leave. The next day I stop there at noon again and park 99 feet away. That would be a violation, even if I stay for 1 minute. Pure BS. I would tell the mayor to fix it and if he doesn't then I would spend the rest of my life telling everyone what a worthless POS he is.

t walgamuth · #9 01-14-2015, 06:29 AM

The enforcement is similar to what we have downtown Lafayette where I own my property. It is a little draconian but keeping people from parking all day keeps the streets open for customers. Otherwise it would be filled with employees.

I got one under similar circumstances in January when we got a new more aggressive entity administrating the rules. I went to city hall and filled out a complaint form and got it rescinded. I also had a nice conversation with the new head of that department.

If you do the same explaining you are the landlord etc. perhaps you will get respect (as I was surprised to get).

dynalow · #10 01-14-2015, 08:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kerry

54-420 "Where any section of this article, or any sign posted pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, prohibits parking in excess of any stated period of time in any given parking space or other designated area, a vehicle shall be considered in violation of that restriction if it has not been moved at least one hundred (100) feet from that parking space or designated area during the stated period of time or if the vehicle is moved to within one hundred (100) feet of that parking space or designated area within twenty-four (24) hours."

Well, the seasonal meters in front of the summer shack used to be from 10:00 am to 10:00 .pm. A few years ago on Memorial Day weekend (Saturday nite iirc) it was damp windy and pouring rain. So, the driveway was full of cars and I park in the street. Don'tcha know I get a $40.00 parking ticket with a 7:30pm time written on it . Cop must have gotten soaked putting it on the windshield.

Silly to keep the meters "on" until 10:00 pm there? Absolutely. They now stop at 5:00 pm, same time lifeguards go off duty. And don't think they don't ride around at 4:50 on their bicycles looking to write last minute tickets.

Anyway, the ordinance you quote above indicates you were in violation. Put up, shut up and go pay the ticket. And please don't give the clerk behind the glass a ration of crap. She had nothing to do with it.

dynalow · #11 01-14-2015, 08:14 AM

[QUOTE=mpolli;3429979]That's a real BS ordinance IMHO. He is your problem:

"Where any section of this article, or any sign posted pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, prohibits parking in excess of any stated period of time in any given parking space or other designated area, a vehicle shall be considered in violation of that restriction if ... the vehicle is moved to within one hundred (100) feet of that parking space or designated area within twenty-four (24) hours."

So for example, the sign says 1 hour parking, I show up at noon and stay for 10 minutes to get coffee somewhere. Then I leave. The next day I stop there at noon again and park 99 feet away. That would be a violation, even if I stay for 1 minute. Pure BS. I would tell the mayor to fix it and if he doesn't then I would spend the rest of my life telling everyone what a worthless POS he is.[/QUOTE]

1. Complain at local govt. meetings.
2. Vote!

Careful what you wish for. Would parking meters be better?

kerry · #12 01-14-2015, 09:50 AM

I think there is still a question as to whether I violated the law or not. The question is whether the vehicle actually has to be parked on the street for more than 2 hours. I was observed parked on the south side of the street at 845am and was given a ticket on the north side of the street at 1053am. In that two hours, I was gone from the street for about and hour. I can prove part of that absent time with a restaurant receipt. I can see that I would have violated the law if my car was parked in two different places on the street for over two hours, but it wasn't. I can't see how I violated the law if the truck was not actually there for a total of more than two hours.

BobK · #13 01-14-2015, 10:24 AM

Option #1. turn the property into a barely passing code slum and ask the city if they like that.
Option #2. get a video camera with 10 hours worth of battery and memory. Follow the meter maid around all day making video to insure she is WORKING the full 8 hours or whatever. Any lapses go on youtube.
Option #3 Make your displeasure know to YOUR politicians. Ask them (nicely) to rewrite the code to be reasonable and make sense. If they refuse, run against them in the next election. Going over the current budget should give you plenty of material of them throwing away taxpayer monies you can use in your campaign.

kerry · #14 01-14-2015, 10:35 AM

3% of the Denver city budget comes from parking tickets--$20 million. They give more parking tickets per year than the total population of men, women and children in the city. Each meter maid must give 90 tickets per day.

Txjake · #15 01-14-2015, 11:21 AM

unreal BS