Commercial Vehicles

Are residents allowed to park their commercial vehicles in townhome parking spaces??

 

yes, as long as there is no signage on it. (I think)

 

Actually, no, they are not allowed to have a commercial vehicle with or without signage, permanently parked on a 'Lot' (that is homeowners lot) in such a way the vehicle is visible from another Lot. In the TH communities, this is impossible.

Section 8.2(n) of the Declaration for Broadlands (pg 39).





Neil Z.
Resident since 1999

 

Thank you for the info. We have a resident on Forest Edge Square who keeps his work van parked in the parking spaces. The van is commercial and has signage for his company.
We didn't want to say anything about unless we were within the HOA rules to do so.

 

Let me ask this question... If this person had a single family home, could he park that van/vehicle in his driveway?

Also, where can this individual park his comm. vehicle if not in his driveway??? Maybe in his garage? Would it fit?

 

That is correct ... commercial vehicles must go in a garage, or parked off property. This is also true for trailers, boats, RVs, etc. RVs and Boats can be kept at the home for a few days while maintenance & repairs are being made, or preparation for trips. A call to the HOA GM to let him know is appreciated.

This is something that has been written into the original documents of Broadlands since 1995.

If this vehicle was a van that had magnetic signs that could be removed, and there were no other outward signs that it was a commerical vehicle, no one would know.





Neil Z.
Resident since 1999

 

Is he taking up community parking space ?? If so, he is definitely in violation.

Neil Z.
Resident since 1999

 

Yes.. the van is taking up community parking spaces and is not parked in their driveway.

 

Then they are in violation, pass this on to the HOA office.



Neil Z.
Resident since 1999

 

Neil:

Back to the commercial Vehicle discussion. We have a big truck parked on the street in front of a single family home. There is reference to the company on the back of the truck - identifying it as a work truck. Because the vehicle is parked in the street - is there any recourse? The people already have two cars in their driveway plus their work truck.

 

How do you know it is a work truck if there is no signs? Maybe they just have a lot of vehicles? Is there a limit to the number of vehicles a person can own?

 

Even on the street, I believe there is a rule against commercial vehicles being parked on a regular basis. Check with the HOA office for sure.

 

hberg,
I live in Ashburn Farm and have had a problem with dumptrucks and moving trucks parked on Windmill Drive just off of Claiborne. I have called the Sheriff's Office for these vehicles and have seen tickets on their windshields when I drive by later. There is something about overly heavy vehicles parked on residential roads. This is aside from our HOA rules about commercial vehicles. It seems a lot easier and more effective for the Sheriff's Office to be called than to try to take action through the HOA (they want me to find out where the operator of the vehicle lives and then they will send them a letter and if that doesn't work then they will call the Sheriff's office.) Hope this helps.

Damian

 

Commercial vehicles cannot be parked on any street within Broadlands, whether it is a private street or a VDOT maintained street.

 

First - it is a commercial vehicle because it has a COMPANY NAME on the back of the truck bed.

Second - it is not a street that has been turned over to VDOT yet. It has been there for a little over a week - which is not much - but I seriously doubt the owner knows the HOA rule about commercial vehicles they are new to Broadlands.

Who do I need to contact and what information do I need to provide so that the HOA can send them a letter explaining the HOA policy? I may wait another week or two before calling in just to see if the situation continues.

 

Ashburn Farm has been around this issue for years. My current understanding:

• Commercial vehicles with a "rated capacity" over 3,000 pounds can not park on VDOT roads within residential areas. These are big trucks, dump truck types.

• Commercial vehicles that are smaller than the 3,000 lbs rated capacity are allowed to park on VDOT roads, even if it is within a residential community within an HOA. There is no county violation against doing so.

• The Sheriff's department enforces violations on VDOT roads. The fine is $40 bucks. If the vehicle continues to park in that "general" area it can be repeatedly ticketed, and eventually tagged for towing. Moving the vehicle each day and returning to the same area, doesn't not help. The vehicle can still "eventually" be towed.

The commercial vehicles along Windmill are a good example. Three trucks with a rating over 3,000 pounds were being parked on the VDOT road (Windmill) overnight. The Sheriff was called and the trucks started to get tickets. If they had continued to "accept" the $40 fines, they would have been towed. Fortunately, they have stopped parking there and the towing was not required. Unfortunately, they are now parking over at the Giant shopping center. (A total other issue)

HOA covenants cover commercial vehicle parking within the HOA controlled streets. In Ashburn Farm's case that is the townhouse areas.

• Covenants state no commercial vehicles can park in this area. That includes commercial cars, vans, trucks, etc. No weight capacity requirements.

• If there is a violation, the HOA enforces the covenants and can have the car towed. This is done without the Sheriff being involved.

We are attempting to be more aggressive with our enforcement of our commercial vehicle covenants. That being; attempting to press the covenant requirements onto VDOT streets.

• If a commercial vehicle is parking on a VDOT road, and it can be proven that that vehicle is operated by a resident, the HOA covenants may be extended to cover this situation.

• Rational is that the resident agreed to the covenant requirement for "no commercial vehicle within the community" (paraphrased). Therefore, it doesn't matter if you are on a HOA maintained road or a VDOT road that is within the community.

• This is somewhat new territory. There has been one court case, outside of VA, that upheld the view of an HOA that deployed this tactic.

• At the least we use it as gentle pressure to have the resident remove the vehicle.

 

The HOA office, of course !!

 

hberg, great minds. I too have noticed the same truck. According to the HOA rules that home owner needs to move their belongings out of their garage and park the truck out of sight. However, considering how long it is it may not fit. In which case they need to park it outside of Broadlands. I'm e-mailing the HOA today to file a complaint.

I'm tired of the multitude of vehicles parked on our street. Garages are for cars not crap. Vehicles (especially oversized commercial and RV's) parked on the street and driveways looks cluttered and cheap. Thus reducing the appearance and value of our homes. The HOA knows this and has set rules and standards to protect homeowners investments. If people want to own more than 2 vehicles they should buy a home with 3 or more garages. Or move to a community with less restrictive HOA rules.

 

There are about 2 other homeowners that have discussed said vehicle and agree. I know one was going to call the HOA but I am not sure that was followed through. Let me know how the HOA responded - I can back you up with support if needed.

I am not sure I am concerned with parking cars in the garage vs. your driveway. We park one in our garage and one in our driveway. VM really made these garages small so I can understand (alot of people on our street do this) why with a mini van or SUV one car goes into the garage and the other in the driveway - I think though that the vehicles that are lining our streets now - and we are not talking normal cars, but large oversized vehicles, is becoming a real problem. I agree with you about owning 3+ vehicles. It's common sense not to own more vehicles then you can house within your lot area but I am sure you and I will now both be blasted on this forum about individual rights to own 40 vehicles if they feel like it etc...and it's our responsbility to keep our kids from ducking out on their bikes around the vehicles illegally parked and how we should have to keep an eye out for said illegal vehicles when we are backing out of our driveway in the fog or snow. Brace yourself.....

 

yeah, just explain to me why the neighbor with the extra car parks in front on MY house in stead of her own.