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Got a ticket for parking in a private church parking lot. Is this proper?

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stockjock

Junior Member
According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, the City of Del Mar, CA collected nearly 3.5% of it's annual budget via parking ticket fines. I believe that there is no grace period at meters (no exceptions for nights/weekends/holidays) and in my view, they are literally parking ticket crazy. The next closest cities in the county had less than half of those numbers, again according to the Union-Tribune. They use parking enforcement in the same way that some areas use speed traps, imo.

So with that background in mind, I parked in a private parking lot at the St. Peter's Church in Del Mar this past Friday at 9 pm. I used to park there every now and then years ago. No one seemed to mind terribly, as the church is closed.

When I returned to my car, I saw that I had been issued a parking citation for 22507.(B) CVC - Permit Required. I was surprised because I didn't believe this citation could be issued on what I believe to be private property. I also didn't see any signs discussing the requirement for a permit, but it's always possible I missed them.

Any thoughts on this? Was this citation properly issued, or might it be worth a challenge, assuming that I'm willing to spend a bit of time on it?
 
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Antigone*

Senior Member
If in fact a permit is required in that lot, then the ticket is warranted. Our church parking lot does require a permit and the City of Riverside does ticket vehicles without the appropriate stickers
 

asiny

Senior Member
According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, the City of Del Mar, CA collected nearly 3.5% of it's annual budget via parking ticket fines. I believe that there is no grace period at meters (no exceptions for nights/weekends/holidays) and in my view, they are literally parking ticket crazy. The next closest cities in the county had less than half of those numbers, again according to the Union-Tribune. They use parking enforcement in the same way that some areas use speed traps, imo.

So with that background in mind, I parked in a private church parking lot this past Friday at 9 pm. I used to park there every now and then years ago. No one seemed to mind terribly, as the church is closed.
All irrelevant, but a nice backstory non-the-less.

When I returned to my car, I saw that I had been issued a parking citation for 22507.(B) CVC - Permit Required. I was surprised because I didn't believe this citation could be issued on what I believe to be private property. I also didn't see any signs discussing the requirement for a permit, but it's always possible I missed them.

Any thoughts on this? Was this citation properly issued, or might it be worth a challenge, assuming that I'm willing to spend a bit of time on it?
Was the private property yours? Do you own the church and/or property it sits on? If not, then yes the citation was properly issued. Just because the church was closed, does not give you the right to 'trespass against them' :D
 

stockjock

Junior Member
If in fact a permit is required in that lot, then the ticket is warranted. Our church parking lot does require a permit and the City of Riverside does ticket vehicles without the appropriate stickers
I wonder what authority allows them to issue on private property? My quick read of the section seems to refer more to "streets".
 

stockjock

Junior Member
All irrelevant, but a nice backstory non-the-less.



Was the private property yours? Do you own the church and/or property it sits on? If not, then yes the citation was properly issued. Just because the church was closed, does not give you the right to 'trespass against them' :D
No, I don't own the property. However, they did not seem to worry too much about people parking there after hours for many years.

I would acknowledge that the church would have the legal right to tow the car after an hour (I think it is), if they chose that route, but I didn't think that these cites could be issued on private property. I thought that only disabled parking citations and fire lane cites would be enforceable.
 

OHRoadwarrior

Senior Member
Was the private property yours? Do you own the church and/or property it sits on? If not, then yes the citation was properly issued. Just because the church was closed, does not give you the right to 'trespass against them' :D
OP wants the church to forgive his trespasses against them. Unfortunately we had a disconnect with separation of church and state.:)
 

CdwJava

Senior Member
According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, the City of Del Mar, CA collected nearly 3.5% of it's annual budget via parking ticket fines. I believe that there is no grace period at meters (no exceptions for nights/weekends/holidays) and in my view, they are literally parking ticket crazy. The next closest cities in the county had less than half of those numbers, again according to the Union-Tribune. They use parking enforcement in the same way that some areas use speed traps, imo.
The fact that they might gain some revenue for this practice has nothing to do with whether or not you are guilty of the violation.

Here is the section:

22507. (a) Local authorities may, by ordinance or resolution,
prohibit or restrict the stopping, parking, or standing of vehicles,
including, but not limited to, vehicles that are six feet or more in
height (including any load thereon) within 100 feet of any
intersection, on certain streets or highways, or portions thereof,
during all or certain hours of the day. The ordinance or resolution
may include a designation of certain streets upon which preferential
parking privileges are given to residents and merchants adjacent to
the streets for their use and the use of their guests, under which
the residents and merchants may be issued a permit or permits that
exempt them from the prohibition or restriction of the ordinance or
resolution. With the exception of alleys, the ordinance or resolution
shall not apply until signs or markings giving adequate notice
thereof have been placed.
A local ordinance or resolution adopted
pursuant to this section may contain provisions that are reasonable
and necessary to ensure the effectiveness of a preferential parking
program.
(b) An ordinance or resolution adopted under this section may also
authorize preferential parking permits for members of organizations,
professions, or other designated groups, including, but not limited
to, school personnel, to park on specified streets if the local
authority determines that the use of the permits will not adversely
affect parking conditions for residents and merchants in the area.

It seems that if such an ordinance exists that you would have been required to have it. You may want to read the specific permit ordinance to see what it says.

It may also be that if it is not properly signed, that you can successfully challenge the citation. Note the portion that indicates signs.
 
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asiny

Senior Member
No, I don't own the property. However, they did not seem to worry too much about people parking there after hours for many years.
If you goto court, don't use this argument. The 'well everyone else does it' argument just means they did not get caught.
It seems, sadly, that the stars might have been aligned and you parked in the wrong place at the wrong time... [insert citation here].
 
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