\
AN OVERNIGHT winter parking ban has caused uproar after drivers were forced to leave their cars at libraries and police stations.
The strict regulations mean that people are no longer allowed to keep their vehicles outside their own homes.
1
Residents of one Massachusetts city have been left outraged by the return of restrictive parking rules for the winter.
Locals of Watertown, about 10 miles west of Boston, are banned from parking their cars on the street between 1am and 6am during the colder months.
The ban is set to come into effect on December 2 but drivers in the city have urged officials to reconsider, claiming that its an “inconvenience”.
Instead of parking on the street, vehicles owners can stop in a pre-approved list of parking lots.
These are largely located outside public spaces like libraries and schools, as well as the police station.
The rules are designed to leave the roads open for snow ploughs and emergency vehicles.
But several residents suggest that the rules could be changed to improve convenience while maintaining access.
Jean Dunoyer, who has lived in Watertown for 25 years, complained that the beautiful garden across the street from him has now been turned into a gravel-filled hole.
He told CBS News: “What’s going to happen to this hole is that it’s going to become black tar pavement for six cars.
“I look at that with a lot of despair because I feel like we have all of this pavement here and the town’s telling us that we can’t use it”
The thicket of willow trees was reportedly torn down to make way for a public lot to be used by drivers affected by the ban,
Jean suggested that officials could instead have allowed parking down just one side of the street.
His wife Gretchen added that temporary bans could be brought into force to cope with snow storms, while allowing drivers to park freely at other times.
More than 800 residents have signed a petition asking the City Council to hear the case for change.
But now everyone agrees it’s necessary.
Can an HOA ban street parking?
According to a North Carolina lawyer, an HOA holds the legal right to band parking anywhere – even in a homeowner’s driveway.
The trick, says HOA lawyer Mike Hunter, is the deed homeowners sign when they buy a home within a subdivision.
“If you buy a home in a deed-restricted community, you’re obligated to abide by those restrictions,” he told the Charlotte Observer.
“If the restrictive covenants say you can’t park on the street, the board has the legal duty to enforce that.”
Many states are passing laws to limit the power of HOAs, though a majority of states still grant HOAs to enforce their regulations, restrictive or otherwise, however they see fit.
Read more here.
Firefighter Kevin Sanderson said: “I’m in full support of it for my job.
“Because when the streets get packed up with a bunch of cars, it makes it next to impossible to get fire trucks and other vehicles down the roads.”
City manager George Proakis confirmed that a meeting would be held within the next three months to discuss the petition, as per the city’s charter.
Jean added: “When that happens, we need every citizen in this town that is available, that’s not traveling and has time, to come to this meeting.”
It comes after it was revealed that cops on dirt bikes would be able to chase down drivers as part of a new crackdown on off-road motoring.
