Guest & Handicap Parking

[MoneyCount]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California
I live in a 60 unit complex with ALL of the 40 stall parking as "guest only" parking. No tenant parking whatsoever. Tenants are to park (2) vehicles in their garage. If only one is parked in garage, or if you have a 3rd vehicle, then your to park on the city street. Then about 2 week ago the city made the street parking a "no stopping anytime" zone. Now there is no place for residents with a 3rd vehicle to park. So the HOA decided to charge $250 prepay per year per vehicle to park in the guest only parking. These stalls are not designated after paying, just that you can park in guest only parking which makes no sense because if its not assigned and anyone can park anywhere, who's to say you'll get a stall and your paying $250 a year? Can they do this? Plus there's no handicap stalls either. How can an HOA say if you have a 3rd vehicle you pay $250 to park and if your handicapped you get no parking at all? Arent the required to have handicap parking? Its a common parking area. What gets me is, the HOA doesnt care about having designated parking for the handicapped as much as they are trying to get $250 a year. What ever happened to doing whats right and not giving into GREED? Also, of the 40 guest parking only about 10-15 cars might be there with the rest empty most of time. We've never have any "no parking" issues and still dont. Are they being a bit unreasonable?

 

[CdwJava]

You should have the ability to address the issue with the HOA board. If enough of you are concerned, then you might be able to affect a change. This is an issue you need to address to the HOA.

As for handicapped parking, in theory, there should be some designated spaces. A lot might depend on when the parking lot was laid out and built. It could be that at the time the lot was designed, those spaces were not required.

 

[MoneyCount]

The HOA knows what they are doing! They're seeing an golden opportunity to scam $250 a year from people. I've been living there for 18 yrs. and they NEVER tryed to "extort" money from us before. Not until the city prohibited street parking and there's only guest parking, not to mention some ignorant way to generate revenue,the HOA knows with a 3rd vehicle your S.O.L. Pay**************.or walk for blocks to find parking? There's none even remotely close to complex. But thats what I'll do before I give them one dime! $250 a year to park in an empty lot just because they need the money is BS. So if the lot was designed in 1980-81 and not required at that time, they arent required to update with handicap stalls? Or can they just hide behind 1980's requirements?

 

[CdwJava]

The HOA knows what they are doing! They're seeing an golden opportunity to scam $250 a year from people.

Which doesn't change a thing. You can either gather like-minded friends and approach the HOA with a solution to the problem, or continue to gripe about it to yourselves.

Pay**************.or walk for blocks to find parking? There's none even remotely close to complex. But thats what I'll do before I give them one dime!

And that's a perfectly acceptable option. Go for it.

So if the lot was designed in 1980-81 and not required at that time, they arent required to update with handicap stalls?

Not necessarily, no.

If they ever redesign the lot then they may have to update to the current standards, but if they were not required to put in handicapped spaces way back when, then apparently they are not required to do so now.

Besides, how would that help any of the residents? If they did put some in, all it might do is drop the number of available parking spaces even more!

 

[MoneyCount]

These spaces arent helping the residents anyway! Residents cant park unless they pay. Its all guest parking. A couple of less guest parking to accomodate the handicapped is fine. Its the only right thing to do. Besides, they arent willing to bend for nothing. They want that money! Thats all they see. Cant see why you'd cater to the sometime "guests" needs before your residents or the handicapped. I can see if we had problems with parking but as the way things are now, we have none. So why create problems? Seems to me that you'd be discriminating against the handicapped to move in without those stalls.

 

[CdwJava]

Once again, your answer lies with political pressure on the HOA. All the complaining in the world will gain you nothing until you apply pressure to the HOA.

 

[FarmerJ]

Have you actually verified with your city whether there is any city ord required handi cap parking space requirements or not for this property ? ( dont forget to ask if city ord at the time this place was built required a set number of guest parking spaces or not ) City ords can and do change some times where a specific thing triggers meeting a newer requirement. So do a bit of research and see what you learn then if you learn that there is to be a set number of Handicap spots or guest spots due to city ord then you will have something to go to the board with that they cannot fight.

 

[Zigner]

Even if there IS handicap parking installed, the HOA still has the option of requiring handicap residents to pay the yearly fee.

Furthermore, it seems to me that, generally, it would be LESS convenient for a handicap person to park their vehicle out in the parking lot, as opposed to in the garage that is, presumably, attached to their unit.

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

Your problem is, you are lobbying to increase the probability you get a free space in the lot, not that you care about any other disabled individuals. By your own admission, there are currently plenty of guest spaces. If they allow all the residents to elect to park there free, no one will use their garage and there will not be any spaces. A fee is a good compromise. If you do not like your HOA, I suggest you move.

 

[MoneyCount]

Your problem is, you are lobbying to increase the probability you get a free space in the lot, not that you care about any other disabled individuals. By your own admission, there are currently plenty of guest spaces. If they allow all the residents to elect to park there free, no one will use their garage and there will not be any spaces. A fee is a good compromise. If you do not like your HOA, I suggest you move.

Its not whether or not I want a free space, its why now start charging to park? We've never had to pay in 18 years. You have to park your first 2 vehicles in your garage period. If you had a 3rd vehicle you were to park on the city street but the city now has made it NO street parking. You were not to park a 2nd or 3rd car in guest parking anyway. But now someone with a 3rd car has nowhere to park(no resident parking at all) unless you pay? My thing is, how are you going to start charging people to park when you dont even care if the handicapped has a designated space? Where's the priority?
I guess the HOA must've been overjoyed when the city stopped street parking so now they can charge a fee. What goes around**************comes around.

 

[Zigner]

Its not whether or not I want a free space, its why now start charging to park? We've never had to pay in 18 years. You have to park your first 2 vehicles in your garage period. If you had a 3rd vehicle you were to park on the city street but the city now has made it NO street parking. You were not to park a 2nd or 3rd car in guest parking anyway. But now someone with a 3rd car has nowhere to park(no resident parking at all) unless you pay? My thing is, how are you going to start charging people to park when you dont even care if the handicapped has a designated space? Where's the priority?
I guess the HOA must've been overjoyed when the city stopped street parking so now they can charge a fee. What goes around**************comes around.

Park somewhere else...enjoy the walk.

 

[ecmst12]

There are 40 spaces in the lot. There are 60 units in the building. How on earth are they going to make sure that there are not more residents trying to park in that lot then there are spaces? Why, by requiring a permit to park there.

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California
I live in a 60 unit complex with ALL of the 40 stall parking as "guest only" parking. No tenant parking whatsoever. Tenants are to park (2) vehicles in their garage. If only one is parked in garage, or if you have a 3rd vehicle, then your to park on the city street. Then about 2 week ago the city made the street parking a "no stopping anytime" zone. Now there is no place for residents with a 3rd vehicle to park. So the HOA decided to charge $250 prepay per year per vehicle to park in the guest only parking. These stalls are not designated after paying, just that you can park in guest only parking which makes no sense because if its not assigned and anyone can park anywhere, who's to say you'll get a stall and your paying $250 a year? Can they do this? Plus there's no handicap stalls either. How can an HOA say if you have a 3rd vehicle you pay $250 to park and if your handicapped you get no parking at all? Arent the required to have handicap parking? Its a common parking area. What gets me is, the HOA doesnt care about having designated parking for the handicapped as much as they are trying to get $250 a year. What ever happened to doing whats right and not giving into GREED? Also, of the 40 guest parking only about 10-15 cars might be there with the rest empty most of time. We've never have any "no parking" issues and still dont. Are they being a bit unreasonable?

Have you possibly considered that the purpose of the 250.00 a year fee is not greed, but is intended to discourage residents from having more than two cars per unit? With a 60 unit complex and 40 parking stalls there is not enough space for all units to have 3 cars, let alone allow for reasonable visitor parking...its quite possible that within a couple of years there would be enough residents with three cars that it would be nearly impossible for visitors to find parking. The HOA may be looking ahead and using that fee as a way to discourage residents from having more than two cars.

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

Its not whether or not I want a free space, its why now start charging to park? We've never had to pay in 18 years. You have to park your first 2 vehicles in your garage period. If you had a 3rd vehicle you were to park on the city street but the city now has made it NO street parking. You were not to park a 2nd or 3rd car in guest parking anyway. But now someone with a 3rd car has nowhere to park(no resident parking at all) unless you pay? My thing is, how are you going to start charging people to park when you dont even care if the handicapped has a designated space? Where's the priority?
I guess the HOA must've been overjoyed when the city stopped street parking so now they can charge a fee. What goes around**************comes around.

Stop and think about what you just said. Do you really expect the HOA to conduct garage inspections, several times a day?

 

[MoneyCount]

The thing is that we DONT have a parking problem at all even after the city banned street parking. No one is complaining that there's no parking. Not all 60 units are occupied at any one time,and of the ones that are,only about 3-4 cars need guest parking because of 3rd vehicle with 2-3 of them simply because they dont fit in the garage due to large trucks, so they might have only one in garage , or not at all. I could understand if people were complaining.