Hoa and Chandler City Streets Question (spring break, renting, how much)

[Jon1911]

So my Hoa has fined me 5 times totaling $500. Yes $100 per an occurrence. Each time for having a trailer ATTACHED to a truck parked in front of my house. The truck and trailer are on a Chandler city street. It was my understanding that because its a public road that either the state county or city would regulate it.

the million dollar question- Is what they're doing legal?

Thanks for your responses please attach or post and relevant information.

Jon

[observer53]

HOAs often regulate such things, the fact that it's on a city street doesn't control the matter. If it's in your CC and Rs (which you should have received and read before you bought) then it is a violation as far as the HOA is concerned, and the CC and Rs are part of a legal and binding contract. You've let it happen five separate times, and then your reaction is to come here to ask about it, instead of addressing it with your HOA board and/or checking with the city to verify that the HOA is in fact permitted to regulate this?

BTW, the unpaid fines can result in a lien being placed on your house, and all that entails.

[unit731]

The fact remains that these developers are in "bed" with state, county, city/town officials.

These developers have been for years circumventing "normal" street/home rules. In my development there are no sidewalks. County streets but no sidewalks. Also no place for school children to assemble to wait for school bus. Kids are either in street waiting or standing on private property. What kind of madness allows this?

In my HOA the streets are owned by the county. The streets were purposely constructed narrower then normal streets. No consideration was made for visitors parking. The driveways are short and just barely allow room for cars to park.

Each HOA has rules constructed usually by the developer then taken over by the homeowners. As stated above you have to read and comprehend what those rules are. And if you are in violation you have to pay the price.

Some HOA's don't allow pickup trucks. Some allow pickup trucks but no lettering/logo on truck. Most do not allow any trailers at all.

Good Luck.

[Kimballette]

HOAs are not for everyone. But I continue to be amazed by the number of outraged homeowners who didn't read and understand the CC&Rs before signing on the dotted line, and then become outraged at what they've agreed to. If the rules offend, then simply don't buy in that development. It's a real head shaker for me. In bed with city/county/state officials or not, if you don't like the HOA rules, walk away before committing to 30 years with them.

Originally Posted by Jon1911

So my Hoa has fined me 5 times totaling $500. Yes $100 per an occurrence. Each time for having a trailer ATTACHED to a truck parked in front of my house. The truck and trailer are on a Chandler city street. It was my understanding that because its a public road that either the state county or city would regulate it.

the million dollar question- Is what they're doing legal?

Thanks for your responses please attach or post and relevant information.

Jon

What do the CC&Rs have to say about trailers and parking vehicles in the street? That's where you'll find your answer.

[jimj]

Instead of beating up the OP for asking a common question let me answer it this way.
Last year there was a bill introduced and voted on that would have removed control of public streets from the HOA and return control to the city/county where it belongs. It was reported in the paper that it had passed but unfortunately the paper was incorrect, it did not pass. Governments in general are more than willing to turn over control to HOA's for as much as they can as it saves the city/county time and money. It removes the cost of police and county enforcement, removes the various government departments having to answer and act on complaints etc. so they're more than happy to abdicate the responsibility to someone else.

With that being said, obviously one should read and understand the CC&R's prior to buying as you "may" be held to them. That brings up another point, after reading them one should drive through the subdivision a few times and see if they're actually enforced, there may be a weak or lazy board that doesn't do much and you don't want that either.

We have a trailer and got one such notice for parking. I got in touch with the management company and we worked out a compromise where I email them when it will be at the house and for how long (usually 2-4 days at a time) and they would note my file so I get no infractions. Same with having a car parked on the street for longer than 72 hours which happens when our son comes home for summer/spring break.
As long as we're not trying to store the trailer which we knew ahead of time was not allowed they'll work with us.
Now we're looking for a house with an rv gate so we can quit paying storage fees and keep it closer to home.
That's our solution.

[Captain Bill]

Originally Posted by Jon1911

So my Hoa has fined me 5 times totaling $500. Yes $100 per an occurrence. Each time for having a trailer ATTACHED to a truck parked in front of my house. The truck and trailer are on a Chandler city street. It was my understanding that because its a public road that either the state county or city would regulate it.

the million dollar question- Is what they're doing legal?

Thanks for your responses please attach or post and relevant information.

Jon

Kimballette and Observer53 have given you excellent advice.
You need to deal with this issue with your HOA anytime they send you a notice of violation.

Before issuing a fine, all HOA's send a notice of the violation giving a certain number of days to cure the issue before a fine is issued.
Whan that notice came, you should have contacted the property manager and discussed your question about their authority over the street with him/her.

However, you apparently ignored the notice and the fines and now you are at this point of what to do.

First, cure the violation so as to stop the fines accumulation.

Then, contact the property manager immediately and discuss the issue with him/her by phone and ask what are your options at this point.

If you can't find your CC&R's and the Rules and Regulations (the rules will spell out the procedure for fines) then ask for a new copy. (Unless they can email them to you, or have them on a site to be downloaded, you may have to pay for the copies on a per sheet basis)

The first option is to just pay the fine.

Another option may be to write a letter to the board of directors requesting a hearing on the fines at the next board meeting.

At the meeting you can discuss the issue, but be prepared with what you're going to say because they can limit your time to a few minutes. Three to five minutes is reasonable.

You may ask for the fine to be reduced. They may reduce it down to their hard costs. (The management company charges the HOA for each letter and for every paper copy, so that is the HOA's hard costs)

They may reduce it down to a percentage.

Remember the board members are residents in your community. They are your neighbors who volunteer their time to work for your community, and they should be treated with respect for the work that they do.

If you treat them with respect at the meeting, then they may be more inclined to reduce the fine.

In the future, as soon as you receive a violation letter, immediately telephone the property manager and discuss it with him/her in a friendly manner. If you are going to correct the issue, or have already corrected it, then let him know. If you object, then ask to be placed on the agenda for the next meeting; and send your letter to the BOD so they can read your case in advance.

Good luck,

[Ponderosa]

Answer is, yes, it is legal for them to enforce their parking restrictions. As jimj pointed out, the attempt to stop them failed (it has failed several times) this year. Not sure why. Jimj has a theory. Mine is that most people in HOAs do not want street parking and want the restriction to be enforceable and made their voices heard. Your car or trailer may be your pride and joy, but it is an eyesore to your neighbors.

I have been in several HOAs over the years and I have several trailers and toys Every single one of the HOAs allowed temporary parking for loading/unloading etc of a day or more as long as they were notified. Continuous, no, but temporary has always been OK.

[ReadyFreddy]

In non-HOA communities there are usually city laws against trailer parking, too. You can't have anything sitting parked on the street more than 48 hours, I think. And you can't store a boat or trailer in your driveway for long, either. Though if it's hooked up and moved daily, that might be different and it's also probably unique to the city.

[Jkgourmet]

Originally Posted by observer53

HOAs often regulate such things, the fact that it's on a city street doesn't control the matter. If it's in your CC and Rs (which you should have received and read before you bought) then it is a violation as far as the HOA is concerned, and the CC and Rs are part of a legal and binding contract. You've let it happen five separate times, and then your reaction is to come here to ask about it, instead of addressing it with your HOA board and/or checking with the city to verify that the HOA is in fact permitted to regulate this?

BTW, the unpaid fines can result in a lien being placed on your house, and all that entails.

+ + + 1

But how much do you wanna bet this joker is renting that house?

[Bummer]

READ, RESPECT and HONOR the CC&R's, Jon!

I have a feeling they clearly state what IS and IS NOT allowed as far as vehicle parking is concerned. Are you certain Chandler is responsible for the street and not the HOA? How would you like to live next to a home with an assortment of construction vehicles and trailers parked in and around the residence? Remember, one trailer today, two tomorrow and by the end of the month, a dozen or more.