Driveway to nowhere

[hdelman]

San Fransico, CA: My car was towed for being parked in a "driveway" in front of a house. When I parked there, I noticed that the former garage had been converted into living space, and there was insufficient room on the property, between the house and the sidewalk, to legally park a car. When I returned to my car, I discovered it had been towed, and there was now a car parked partially on the private property, and partially blocking the sidewalk. I have photos of all of this and intend to protest the tow. ($400 including the ticket) My rationale is this -- The cutout on the curb does not lead to any place where one can legally park a car, therefore, it is not a "driveway." Indeed, the owner should have been cited for blocking the sidewalk.

I have been unable to find a legal definition of "driveway." Any thoughts, ideas, or suggestions?

Thanks,
Howard

[CdwJava]

Here's the state's definition:

CVC 490. "Private road or driveway" is a way or place in private
ownership and used for vehicular travel by the owner and those having
express or implied permission from the owner but not by other
members of the public.

And,

CVC 22500. No person shall stop, park, or leave standing any vehicle
whether attended or unattended, except when necessary to avoid
conflict with other traffic or in compliance with the directions of a
peace officer or official traffic control device, in any of the
following places:

(e) In front of a public or private driveway, except that a bus
engaged as a common carrier, schoolbus, or a taxicab may stop to load
or unload passengers when authorized by local authorities pursuant
to an ordinance.

It's possible that the owner uses the tiny stretch of road to park his vehicle - if so, it falls under the definition of a driveway as it is used for vehicular traffic.

What code section was used on your citation? If a city code, then the city may have a different definition.

At this point, you can certainly challenge the citation through the procedure used in S.F., bring your pictures with you, and hope for the best.

- Carl

[hdelman]

Carl,

Thanks for the definition. I suppose one could argue that if the owner had a teeny-tiny car, assuming there was such a thing, he could legally park it. But the reality is that when I went back today, there was a Toyota Camry and a Toyota Celica parked in front of the house, both very definitely on the sidewalk. In fact, the Celica wasn't even in front of the cut-out, meaning that it either ran over the curb, or drove on the sidewalk.

I was cited under the well-referenced 22500(e). I have my photos, and I am hoping for the best. I guess it will all come down to common sense, versus "letter of the law."

Oh... and I'll be sure to phone in a complaint to DPT every time I need to walk around either of those parked Toyotas.

Howard

[Zigner]

Motorcycle's don't need all THAT much room to park

[CdwJava]

Originally Posted by hdelman

Oh... and I'll be sure to phone in a complaint to DPT every time I need to walk around either of those parked Toyotas.

They may no be concerned with vehicles parked on the sidewalks. With the parking problems in SF, I imagine that they will generally concern themselves with those that potentially prevent property owners from using their driveways as they see fit. Yes, selective enforcement IS legal even if there IS a violation code for parking on a sidewalk (and there is).

- Carl