FoxyRoadster Posted April 17, 2011 Report Share Posted April 17, 2011 My house has a paved driveway that has outdated most of the newer city ordinances enacted in the city, I just got a 250 dollar ticket for parking in the right of way due to my driveway being located in the right of way. Thing is my city has no clear definition I can find of distance for right of way, only thing they sent me showing a right of way is a shitty screenshot of google maps with an line on it.. I'm seriously thinking of getting a lawyer and making this the most costly ticket they have wrote this year. For a state full of people who want less government control this seems like a major crock of shit. Hell according to the city ordinances I've gotta have a fully paved driveway, but I don't see 90% of my neighbors being fined for gravel driveways! Quote Link to comment
HRH Posted April 17, 2011 Report Share Posted April 17, 2011 Tickets like that are complaint driven by code enforcement. Basically your neighbor bitches, calls, then they send someone out. I would certainly fight it, but interestingly enough I was looking up that very issue last night due to a problem neighbor down the street. I found out it's illegal to park in the front yard in Spokane, and get this, it's illegal to park in your own DRIVEWAY for more than 12 hours. Now, I've never been hassled, but they could. And I would raise a huge stink about it because in my neighborhood, I like having my cars in a fenced yard. If they ever do give me shit, hell, I'll ask them if they'd like me to pave the whole yard and make it a parking lot. Either way it's time and money to fight the city if they have bullshit laws like those. At the same time, there are a lot of lawyers who can fix it so the city doesn't bother you again too. I'd start asking the neighbors who had a problem with you parking. You didn't park over the sidewalk, did you? That'll get you and there's not much you can do about it because the city owns the sidewalk and it is considered a pedestrian right of way. Quote Link to comment
thisismatt Posted April 17, 2011 Report Share Posted April 17, 2011 Yeah, I don't follow. Are you talking about parking within the sidewalk section of a driveway, or what other type of right-of-way is it? Some type of easement? Quote Link to comment
FoxyRoadster Posted April 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2011 Tickets like that are complaint driven by code enforcement. Basically your neighbor bitches, calls, then they send someone out. I would certainly fight it, but interestingly enough I was looking up that very issue last night due to a problem neighbor down the street. I found out it's illegal to park in the front yard in Spokane, and get this, it's illegal to park in your own DRIVEWAY for more than 12 hours. Now, I've never been hassled, but they could. And I would raise a huge stink about it because in my neighborhood, I like having my cars in a fenced yard. If they ever do give me shit, hell, I'll ask them if they'd like me to pave the whole yard and make it a parking lot. Either way it's time and money to fight the city if they have bullshit laws like those. At the same time, there are a lot of lawyers who can fix it so the city doesn't bother you again too. I'd start asking the neighbors who had a problem with you parking. You didn't park over the sidewalk, did you? That'll get you and there's not much you can do about it because the city owns the sidewalk and it is considered a pedestrian right of way. There is no sidewalk and they've never had interest in laying one, and its very crappily paved drive way with even one of those stoppers like they put in parking lots at the end. From what I've gathered the city ordinances say you need a paved driveway (most of them are gravel in this neighborhood mine is even half gravel) and more outrageous things.. Apparently the city has a right of way that is a chunk of my front yard they own for future improvement... I can drive down this road and nearly 50% of people have no choice but to park in the right of way... Quote Link to comment
datto510 Posted April 17, 2011 Report Share Posted April 17, 2011 Go to the County Assessors(tax!) office and ask for a map showing your platt. It should have a very clear description of the property and its boundaries. Otherwise you may need to get the place surveyed. $$ Quote Link to comment
FoxyRoadster Posted April 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2011 Go to the County Assessors(tax!) office and ask for a map showing your platt. It should have a very clear description of the property and its boundaries. Otherwise you may need to get the place surveyed. $$ Looking into that as we speak, from what it shows I own from the curb to the back yard line.. The car is over 10 feet away from the street. Quote Link to comment
Z-train Posted April 17, 2011 Report Share Posted April 17, 2011 10 bucks says it's utility easement.You own,it but you can't obstruct it. Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted April 17, 2011 Report Share Posted April 17, 2011 My house has a paved driveway that has outdated most of the newer city ordinances enacted in the city, I just got a 250 dollar ticket for parking in the right of way due to my driveway being located in the right of way. Thing is my city has no clear definition I can find of distance for right of way, only thing they sent me showing a right of way is a shitty screenshot of google maps with an line on it.. I'm seriously thinking of getting a lawyer and making this the most costly ticket they have wrote this year. For a state full of people who want less government control this seems like a major crock of shit. Hell according to the city ordinances I've gotta have a fully paved driveway, but I don't see 90% of my neighbors being fined for gravel driveways! Usually, I say usually, road allowances are 20 meters or about 66 feet wide. (back lanes are different width) Measure 33 feet from the center line to roughly find your property line. Does the picture show your car and the magical line on it? If just a line on a picture it's meaningless. They would have to get a land surveyor to mark it out, that's the only definition that will stand up in court. Go to court and ask for the name of the legal surveyor and his field notes (which will have the dates on it.) No average dick enforcement officer can go out and determine the legal boundary of your property line. True, they could probably make a good guess. Your job is to muddle this up and cause doubt. Ask if he is a legal land surveyor and how he determined the property line. Go talk with a legal land surveyor, but be brief, his time is money. Get an idea of what you are up against. You may be able to bluff your way out of this if you can convince the judge that you are a nice guy fighting an arbitrary enforcement using nothing but a guess as to where the road allowance/property line is. They may claim that they have a surveyor for the town that looked at it or they had someone do this. If so, demand their field notes as proof. If they can't (because they didn't) ask the judge to dismiss the action against you. Your driveway stops at your property line. From there to the street pavement is town property, if you paved it, it isn't yours. Quote Link to comment
FoxyRoadster Posted April 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2011 Usually, I say usually, road allowances are 20 meters or about 66 feet wide. Measure 33 feet from the center line to roughly find your property line. Does the picture show your car and the magical line on it? If just a line on a picture it's meaningless. They would have to get a land surveyor to mark it out, that's the only definition that will stand up in court. Go to court and ask for the name of the legal surveyor and his field notes (which will have the dates on it.) No average dick enforcement officer can go out and determine the legal boundary of your property line. Go talk with a legal land surveyor, but be brief, his time is money. Get an idea of what you are up against. You may be able to bluff your way out of this if you can convince the judge that you are a nice guy fighting an arbitrary enforcement using nothing but a guess as to where the road allowance/property line is. They may claim that they have a surveyor for the town that looked at it or they had someone do this. If so, demand their field notes as proof. If they can't (because they didn't) ask the judge to dismiss the action against you. Your driveway stops at your property line. From there to the street is town property. Can't see how they can make you pave their property. Pretty much the picture they show my right of way line on or could be a property line on(the tax assessor's office shows my plot much larger then this image is lined) looks like someone went crazy on MS paint after pasting an image from google maps. I'm going to find out a clear definition of the property line come monday, might cost a few bucks but I bet will be less then 250 as I just dug through the city ordinances and only thing I find is a driveway can not be within 10 feet of the property line which if the tax assessor's map is correct I own all the way to the curb which I need to find out for in detail. I still have not found a clear definition of the right of way listed on their ordinances either. The closest listing is for sidewalks and such.. but no sidewalk exists on my property. You'll have to forgive my grammar and typos, been a long day. Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted April 17, 2011 Report Share Posted April 17, 2011 Surveying should be about $110 to #150 an hour. Just ask to establish the property line for a fence. Do not ask for it to be posted $$$$$$$ forget it! Instead, they will come out with a metal detector and dig up you property pins at the front corners and stick a couple of stakes in. If your corners are gone they will have to look for evidence down the street and that will cost more. Usually a charge by the hour. If this should work out in your favor (almost never) and you were parked legally. Demand the town to pay the surveying bill as a fuck you. Won't hurt to try. Quote Link to comment
izzo Posted April 17, 2011 Report Share Posted April 17, 2011 I dont even... Wait, wat? Fight it, i bet you it gets tossed out. Best bet is to talk to a lawyer. If you find one whos not a greedy f'ing rat. I bet you could get them to say hey, thats not right, fight it, check out ordinance blah blah, take photos of where your car was parked and talk to the judge... I got a ticket labor day last year for driving 53 in a 55.. Go figure, it was thrown out. I also got a ticket for not having insurance (it wasn't my car, i was just moving it.) It was double insured, i had proof and i still had to pay that. WTF? Best bet, lots of pictures, look up the code the put on the ticket, get all the information they sent you and FIGHT IT. Sometimes paying more for a lawyer to get you out of something like this, is worth more then paying for the ticket and letting it go... Good luck to ya. Quote Link to comment
Rhapakatui Posted April 17, 2011 Report Share Posted April 17, 2011 Shoot the next bastard that comes on your property to tell you what to do with it..... Well, I guess you can't do that in a city... I've never lived inside of a city limit, and the more I hear about it, the less I want to. The water tastes like soap, you can't shoot anything, and people tell you when to mow. I say only go to cities to work. I don't even like hanging out at friends houses in town. Quote Link to comment
nismo dr Posted April 17, 2011 Report Share Posted April 17, 2011 I love my city. That sucks when you have to deal with that kind of bs Quote Link to comment
FoxyRoadster Posted April 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2011 Turns out they've expanded the right of way.. Thanks to a friends I managed to get a copy of the updated right of way, over 50% of the neighborhood is now parking in the right of way. Pretty much I'm screwed, but I believe I'm the only one in the neighborhood that has a ticket. But now they are not going to like me, I'm going call them every day and report every car in the right of way tell either I'm told by the police to stop for harassment or they stop answering the calls. I've got nothing better to do at work and I'll be calling the news paper about it as well if they do not enforce the law equally. Quote Link to comment
]2eDeYe Posted April 17, 2011 Report Share Posted April 17, 2011 That sucks... I moved out to the county, like way out to the next county from Seattle to get away from that bullshit. Then the Marysville city council incorporated my neighborhood even after everyone went to the city hall and said no. Now we (me and neighbors) violate the noise ordinance whenever we play music. City's...nice places to visit, but I hate living in them. Quote Link to comment
Skib Posted April 17, 2011 Report Share Posted April 17, 2011 2eDeYe' date='17 April 2011 - 04:55 PM' timestamp='1303084500' post='461381']City's...nice places to visit, but I hate living in them. yup, let the bike riding sceendouches have the citys. Ill stay just outside the BS Quote Link to comment
FoxyRoadster Posted April 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2011 Well the gf and I decided if some special medicinal laws don't pass this year in OK we're moving, cause that would make it the only thing worth staying here now since the city decides to slowly claim more and more of my land. :lol: Quote Link to comment
Rhapakatui Posted April 18, 2011 Report Share Posted April 18, 2011 Head south just a bit. Cross the Red River and find a spot you like. Texas still welcomes new arrivals. We have almost every climate and landscape that the US has to offer. I personally prefer the swamps and pine trees of Southeast Texas, but we got it all. Just don't bring any hippies. And if you do, send em to Austin. I love visiting that city but it is chocked full of hippies. (smoking pot does not a hippie make, I mean commie liberal government types) Quote Link to comment
Rustina 510 Posted April 18, 2011 Report Share Posted April 18, 2011 Head south just a bit. Cross the Red River and find a spot you like. Texas still welcomes new arrivals. We have almost every climate and landscape that the US has to offer. I personally prefer the swamps and pine trees of Southeast Texas, but we got it all. Just don't bring any hippies. And if you do, send em to Austin. I love visiting that city but it is chocked full of hippies. (smoking pot does not a hippie make, I mean commie liberal government types) Isn't that the truth, and in Texas, bill collectors can't garnish wages or get a legal judgement against anything unless you have investment property. Quote Link to comment
dennis Posted April 18, 2011 Report Share Posted April 18, 2011 We do have some big time property taxes so buy a cheap house. 15 days after I moved in my central appraisal district sent me a letter asking if my builder included any type of upgrades to my new house. They are already trying to to a change of appraisal on my house for next years taxes. Quote Link to comment
NWOleman Posted April 18, 2011 Report Share Posted April 18, 2011 cities suck ass! Quote Link to comment
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