Couple Shocked After Being Fined $1,542 For Parking On Their Own Driveway
A couple were shocked after finding out they had been fined $1,542 (£1,282) for parking on their own driveway.
Judy and Ed Craine say they’ve been parking their car in the same spot on their property in San Francisco for 36 years with no problems.
However, the pair recently received a letter from the city planning department with the hefty fine, alongside a parking ban at the location on their drive.
Alongside the $1,500 fine was a further $250 (£208) fee for each day they continued to park in the driveway, due to it being illegal to park in front of a home in the area.
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The couple believe that someone tipped off officials anonymously about their vehicle, having used an ancient city code that preserves neighbourhood aesthetics and prevents residents from ‘amassing cars’ in their front gardens, and took action against the family.
Ed told ABC News: "To all of a sudden to be told you can't use something that we could use for years, it's startling.
“Why are you taking away something that has great utility, not just to us, but to our neighbours in terms of more parking spaces?”
The city’s planning chief Dan Sider said of the unfolding situation: "I recognise that the property owner is frustrated. I think I would feel the same way in their situation.
"But the Planning Code doesn't allow for the City to grandfather illegal uses on account of their having flown below the radar for a length of time."
However, the planning department informed the couple that they could potentially be given a waiver if they could prove that the parking spot was historically found on their property, according to CBS.
Judy said: "We could be grandfathered in. If we show them a historical photo that showed a car ... or a horse-drawn buggy in the carport.”
The family did manage to find an image from 34 years ago of their car in the very same spot, but planning officials said the document was not old enough.
The couple then dug through archives to find a photo from 1938 of a car or horse-drawn carriage in the parking spot. However, officials said the image was not clear enough to accept as evidence to waive the ban.
The couple instead agreed to stop parking in the spot, with San Francisco city officials eventually waiving the fines.
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Gabriella Ferlita