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HOA Question Do not double park in front of your garage!!!

Discussion in 'Broadlands Community Issues' started by MyCrosswind26, Jun 25, 2010.

  1. MyCrosswind26

    MyCrosswind26 New Member

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    We were cleaning our garage and we have to park both cars in front of our garage. That night I was very tired caring for my kids and my eight-month pregnant wife. Next morning I discover my car is gone. later on I found out that it was towed and the reason it was one-foot out in side walk!!! This is a military rules. one inch out and you loose. I have to pay $150.00 to get my car back. this is the least of my problem. I also lost important client meetings and opportunity to get new job contract. I would say thanks to my neighbor who called the towing company.

    I attended last HOA meeting and express my anger about this policy the answer was " We are enforcing county law" !!! Wow now our HOA want to play the role of enforcing Loudoun county laws!!! I wonder how far they will go enforcing all county laws, states laws and Fed's law.
     
  2. SevenZero3

    SevenZero3 New Member

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    Wow. I can't believe this happened, but this is what we get when people perceive there to be major parking issues within Broadlands. I'm sure we'll see the tow trucks out in full force during Broadlands Live, swim meets, and school functions. Way to go HOA BOD, acting upon the interests of a few only to make the majority suffer.
     
  3. mamatothree

    mamatothree New Member

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    All residents were informed of the new towing policy in the January, February, March and April newsletters as well as on the Forums.

    Prior to towing, the towing company takes a photo to ensure that the sidewalk is being blocked. Please PM your address to me and I will request that photo from Battlefield towing. Cars which are blocking the side walk on private streets will be towed, as will cars in the fire lane.

    The Sheriff's Department has given HOAs the authority to enforce county laws on private streets. The county police will tow for the same violation on VDOT streets.

    The SWHOA meeting which was held last night only deals with issues related to Openband. To air your comments regarding towing, you need to address the Broadlands board which meets the second Tues of the month. The next Broadlands HOA meeting is July 13th at 6pm at the nature center.
     
  4. mamatothree

    mamatothree New Member

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    The HOA has the authority to tow off HOA owned roads. The swimming pools the schools and Hillside Park, the venue for Broadlands Live, are not on HOA roads. Vehicles are towed from HOA owned roads if they are completely blocking the sidewalk or are parked in a fire lane, both serious safety issues. The LCSO will tow from VDOT roads for the same offense..

    HOAs are authorized by the Sheriff's Office to enforce county parking regulations.
     
  5. Capricorn1964

    Capricorn1964 Well-Known Member

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    Say....I noticed that one side of the Ridgeway Drive has sidewalks but the other doesn't...How come only one side of the road has sidewalk? Just thought it was kind of odd to me....

    Stinks when someone's car was towed in townhouse communities because its difficult to find parking for cars when you need to clean out the garage. I feel for those that got penalized but couldn't the association provide some leeway for people who are bonafidely cleaning out their garage and its just a few hours as opposed to the entire weekend? (Not a townhouse owner here but trying to come up with an idea to help keep the peace/good neighborly reputation between the HOA and Residents of Townhouses)....

    Can't we all be more reasonable here? I mean if someone routinely parks their car on the sidewalks repeatedly, fine..I can understand that. But its a bit much to tow a car just because the car was an inch or foot over the sidewalk to just clean out the garage. Damaging the relations between the Board and Residents can cause harm over the long haul. My previous HOA (Fairfax County) sought to minimize the towing by only towing repeat offenders of visitor parking lots/fire zones/repeated sidewalk blocking. It was a win/win for everyone all around.

    Not trying to stir up a hornet's nest here but trying to be a good neighbor here in offering some middle ground here. Let me know if Im stepping on anyone's toes here. :sadhide:

    Have a great weekend everyone, by the way.
     
  6. redon1

    redon1 aka Aphioni

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    i think sidewalk blocking should be a fine first time, then a tow.
     
  7. T8erman

    T8erman Well-Known Member

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    First, there is ample parking pretty much everywhere in Broadlands. I leave near many townhomes and witness people doing what the originator of this thread "allegedly" did (more on this later) often.

    Second, most people who do this are just plain lazy and do not want to park their cars, in most cases, accross the street! I mean gee, that 10-20 yard walk is a killer!

    Third, the towing company will NOT tow cars that are barely in the sidewalk. I am willing to bet that if/when the photo is looked at, the sidewalk is probably mostly to completely covered.
    A friend of mine complained about the very samething (on Facebook) and when the picture came back, her "1 foot" in the sidewalk all of a sudden became, "well, I thought I was just barely in but the picture showed that the sidewalk was completely covered".

    It is simple, to avoid being towed, park legally. ESPECIALLY overnight.
     
  8. Capricorn1964

    Capricorn1964 Well-Known Member

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    Ok sorry to step on your toes...I see your point...Just trying to be helpful that is all. I'll stay out of the way on this issue. I just hate it when neighbors and the board fight with each other over the parking issues. Its just sad to me. But I do understand where you are coming from.
     
  9. mamatothree

    mamatothree New Member

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    Unfortunately, our governing docs don't allow for assessments of fines for parking violations.
    We've tried the warning route without success. Either it was ignored completely or the violations stopped for a brief period and when the resident thought it was "safe", they started parking illegally again. The good news is that since towing was instituted there has been a significant decrease in parking complaints and illegal parking on private streets.
     
  10. redon1

    redon1 aka Aphioni

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    tough love seems to work, doesn't it... :)

    as painful as it can be sometimes- it's for the good of the hood.
     
  11. Capricorn1964

    Capricorn1964 Well-Known Member

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    Yeah, it looks like the Tough Love concept works...

    You know, turning in a neighbor withOUT talking to him/her about the transgressions only causes a neighbor to hate another neighbor and this is more profound in a townhouse community. Where I live in a SFH community, we neighbors tend to be more civil and less petty with one another and we work things out amongst ourselves. This creates more neighborly connections and goodwill among ourselves. We all get along and we don't rat each other out because we don't want to hate one another the entire time as we have kids that play with one another and often get together to chit chat. To create amosity towards each other just creates a lot of tension and nitpicking. To me, that's pretty juvenile and sometimes creates a tit for tat community which we are trying to get away from. Im very fortunate that I have great neighbors!!!
     
  12. MyCrosswind26

    MyCrosswind26 New Member

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    I am resident of this great community called Broadlands for more than three years and I never parked illegally anywhere because we have two cars garage and other parking around us. Just happen that night they were no parking around us, I was exhausted I went to bed around 8 and I did not know about towing policy. I have no issue following HOH/county/State/Fed/UN rules. But for small mistake I have to pay $150.00 and lose all day work!!! I wish they gave me a warning or even a ticket of $300 and not take my XXX car in front of my house. I have to cancel my kids school and clients meetings. At the end blocking a side walk is not an emergency matter or life threatening especially if your house is the last house on the street!!!
     
  13. redon1

    redon1 aka Aphioni

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    is a neighbor calling the only way to get towed, or do the the towers look for violations and act upon them, or can HOA members on rounds report violations, or can someone who was trying to use the sidewalk also call in a violation? are we positive a neighbor turned the OP in, or are usually responsible for iniating tows?

    the bottom line is, don't break the rule, don't have to worry about the consequence. harsh reality but exceptions can't be made because of this or that circumstance, otherwise, why bother?

    i shouldn't get entrenched in this argument- i currently live in a pipe stem and have no parking issues to worry about. but that said- when i used to live in a TH community and seved as HOA prez, we got flak for NOT addressing the issue and then flak when we DID.
     
  14. Capricorn1964

    Capricorn1964 Well-Known Member

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    Most of the time, its a neighbor calling it in because they get fed up with trying to deal with a violator time and time again...However, in this particular case, I dunno who did what ..(sounds like a whodunit, heh)...but in my experience, its usually a neighbor that has a vendetta or just simply got tired of getting no action from the offender to move the car or the like.

    Sad but true....
     
  15. T8erman

    T8erman Well-Known Member

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    No toes were stepped on. Didn't intend for my post to seem "passionate" about the issue.
     
  16. T8erman

    T8erman Well-Known Member

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    I do believe the towing company does patrol the private streets without being called.
     
  17. Mazinger

    Mazinger New Member

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    There are no grey areas when towing companies are involved. You're either parked "legally" and they leave you alone or they find a reason to tow.

    People wanted towing in the 'hood and they got it.
     
  18. hornerjo

    hornerjo Senior Member

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    How do you clean out a garage with 2 cars parked in the driveway? I fill the whole driveway when I clean mine out. :) Do you have a long driveway? Or small cars, I can't imagine 2 cars in any of the driveways back to back and only going a foot over. Just saying, if they towed it it must have clearly been in violation.

    I saw the towing company do a slow drive-around on my street (Autumnwood Sq) this last weekend (I think it was Saturday). So I think they do do patrols.
     
  19. flynnibus

    flynnibus Well-Known Member Forum Staff

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    The Towing Company does patrol - just because you were towed don't make assumptions on the situation.. except you can assume they have evidence on why you were towed.

    As much as you want to make this sound like 'we were just cleaning out our garage..' the real story is you left your car parked illegally over night and it got towed. If it were towed while you were out cleaning out your garage... then that would seem excessive. But that's not what happened.

    As for other alternatives... the neighborhood has been trying many for the last 10+ years. This isn't some knee jerk reaction - it's been a long process.

    As for not knowing about the policy... after you pay your $150 you might be more motivated to read the mail that comes to your house every month for free?
     
  20. boomertsfx

    boomertsfx Booyakasha!

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    Yeah, you SFH dwellers are much better than us in the shanty-town townhouse slums... maybe one day we can rise up! 8)
     

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