Monday, February 7, 2011

The 'Melody Lane Parking Lot'

Positively Palermo received this e-mail: "Hi Penny, thought you would like to see these recent photos of the neighborhood. As you know, so many residents are ignoring the rules regarding parking on the street, and overfilling dumpsters, and leaving dog poo behind etc. Even I was surprised to see the neglect outside our gates. It seems the landscaping guy is not getting out there anymore. I know theres been some recent changes to HOA personel, and I sincerely hope this tightens things up in the neighborhood, so we'll see. I am concerned about the lack of visible security. I never see them patrol, and street parking is not being enforced, so dont know how residents dont mind paying for this every month. anyway, thanks for all you do with the blog. its a great service to the community." Here is a picture from the resident of what he calls the "Melody Lane Parking Lot." Miss Penny Lane says: Thank you for the photographic report.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dear neighbors, please email your concerns to Brandi Scott at DRM and cc the Board Members. DRM continues to seem absent! But, hopefully, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

This situation is crazy. Please tow these cars as they are a safety menace.

Anonymous said...

Repeated offenders should be towed and/or fined. Do the owners know bout this because offenders are renters.

Anonymous said...

Time to call in the fire chief? I was told that the city has said the HOA must keep these fire lanes clear when they okayed the Palermo development. This was stated at board meetings back in 2008 even.

Fire Marshal Bill said...

Any vehicle in a designated fire lane can, and should (for the safety of the residents) be towed.

CALIFORNIA VEHICLE CODE
SECTION 22500-22526

22500.1 In addition to Section 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 along the edge of any highway, at any curb, or in any location in a publicly or privately owned or operated off-street parking facility, designated as a fire lane by the fire department or fire district with jurisdiction over the area in which the place is located.

Anonymous said...

I wouild be careful about calling in the fire marshall because WE are the ones that are going to get fined then it is our problem to collect the damages from the offender

Anonymous said...

This is a SAFETY issue and if it takes the HOA being fined to ensure smooth access for fire trucks and EMTs then so be it. They have talked talked talked about this and it is not being solved. The HOA will have bigger issues than a $500 fine if a house burns or someone doesn't get fast medical attention. There are times the streets are not passable because of cars/trucks on both sides of the street. A car that is sticking out into a fire land from a "private" driveway is in violation.

Anonymous said...

I look at the pics and I see two cars that MIGHT impeed an abulance or a fire truck. The other cars are barly a touch into the street. There is NO WAY an emergencey vehicle can not get down the street in the event of an emergency. Two cars out of place hardly constitutes a parking lot. I have seen what a fire truck will do if they cant get threw, trust me they will get by if they have to drive over a car or smash the windows to put the fire hose threw. The point is plase don't worry about the cars if there is an emergency, the rescue team wil be able to help you.

Anonymous said...

Dear Above: You must be one who parks on the street. It is against the rules, a safety hazard, and guess who gets to pay the fire marshal fines of $500? All of us through HOA increases and higher rents. Why does it occur to you to defend people who dont care about rules? It makes no sense whatsoever.

Anonymous said...

I love "barely touching the street" comment - It is in the street which is a fire lane. There are rules against this both the city and the HOA, so it's time to tow and fine. It's also unsightly and this is a design-drived community.

Anonymous said...

AMEN!!!

Anonymous said...

Are you telling me that the cars in the driveways are impeding the road. Onece again I am not talking about the ones parked in the streets, just the ones in the driveways. I understand that rules are rules however the word Nitpicking comes to mind. I love the the fact that someone here actally things that the rear of the car overhanging the white part of the street impedes trafic. If you think that the white park is for driving then you should go back and study the driving manual.

Anonymous said...

PS, just for the record, I will bet anyone here that if I look hard enought I will find at least 70% of this complex breaks the rules here time to time. I know because I see it all the time from both renters and owners.

Anonymous said...

Cars like that are in the fire lanes. It's a slippery slope - is one foot OK, six inches, or whatever. I don't get why on earth anyone would defend it because its is so much parking available here and the situation is that one car stick out and another car or tow or more than are in the streets so its is mess and hazard, so ,yeah, there are the rules meant to make this place safer (rules made by the city). Nitpicking isn't saying people should follow the city law. I can tell you that if one of these people who park like this had an emergency and someone else's car impeded the EMT or fire truck, they would be hopping mad.

Fire Marshal Bill said...

Like many condominium complexes, Palermo was built to maximize density for developer profit. The street widths inside the complex are the minimum allowable by state and local laws to provide emergency access. In order to allow parking on "one" side of the street, the width shall be 30'; parking on "both" sides of the street, the width shall be 40'; Palermo's street widths = 24'.

Anonymous said...

Fire Marshall Bill - right on, you tell. Let the tow begin. Start fining the ones sticking out right now too.

Anonymous said...

I am constantly amazed when I drive through Palermo to see cars sticking several feet into the blacktop. It looks stupid and is being perpetrated by stupid people. Adding insult to injury are the internet trolls that defend that behavior on this blog. 238 Sandy Point is the worst offender when it comes to illegal street parking. They own at least 3 old, filthy cars plus a work van to load/unload their rock band equipment all parking on the street whenever they feel like it. I also cannot wait for the towing to begin.