Parking Enforcement
All parts of every road in the Park River Oak community are fire-lanes and any vehicle parked in the streets, even briefly, is in violation of serious fire-lane laws. Even over-sized vehicles in compact parking stalls are breaking fire-lane laws. ALL stalls on the street facing Park River’s exit gate are labeled “compact,” but the fire department informed us that illegal fire-lane parking includes vehicles hanging-over parking-spot curbs painted red anywhere on the property, even if they are not labeled “compact.” Fire trucks have driven through our gated community and proven that they cannot safely travel our narrow roadways to a home in need, if a vehicle is in any part of the roadway. Even cars partially in and out of garages are breaking fire-code laws.
The laws and fire department do not allow for “load and unload” exceptions, even for “two minutes,” and neither can we. It takes just seconds for a fire to destroy a home and our conjoined houses would quickly become disasters. That means no more washing cars in the roadways, or claiming to take only “a minute” to load and unload when it always has been much longer than “a minute or two.” A small inconvenience to one person is not equal to an emergency for a building on fire, or a “9-1-1” call requiring a fire truck or medic.
Four steps the Board and management company are taking for parking enforcement effective immediately in the Park River Oak community are:
- Our security company will monitor community parking day and night, and be the main authority for towing at Park River Oak Estates.
- If management or security locates any vehicle in or over fire-lanes to any degree, the law REQUIRES a TOW IMMEDIATELY, WITHOUT NOTICE, AT THE CAR OWNER’S EXPENSE.
- The fire department will also ticket fire-lane violations and over-sized vehicle parking, and their tickets are over $200 per incident, payable to the county. Guests will be ticketed and towed just like residents.
- If management locates homeowners (for themselves, their renters, and/or their guests) who continue to violate fire-lane laws, besides towing the vehicles, the homeowner will be called into executive session (for themselves, their renters, and/or guests), with the likelihood of fining the homeowner.
Fire-lane violations, over-sized parking, expired-registration, and “storing” a car in any stall will face tickets and a tow at owner expense, effective immediately. We will begin enforcing visitor-only outside parking, next. The CCR’s state the your garage is not to be used as a living, office, or storage space, and it is not to be permanently altered by over-sized shelving or cabinets, added-on rooms, etc., that impede two car parking in garages. The CCR’s also state that ALL outdoor parking is visitor only. You cannot convert your garages into storage rooms, exercise rooms, kennels, etc. The legal burden is on you to have read your CCR’s given to you at escrow and which are publicly available on the internet, and to abide by them. Narrow, movable shelving still allow for two car garage parking in many current garages. This letter provides you notice to empty the storage problems that currently prevent parking for two cars inside garages as soon as possible. Major garage alterations are also be in violation of building codes.
Thank you for your understanding on these matters.