I guess you not be allowed to take photos next in your own driveway..More out of control gov. stuff
----- Forwarded Message ----- From: "a1maestro" <[email protected]> To: "Sandy S." <[email protected]>, "Joseph S." <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, April 27, 2009 4:32:31 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Driveways in D.C. Now a No-Parking Zone How soon before other cities get this bright idea??? You can't make this stuff up! ;-) Joe S. > http://www.wtop.com/?sid=1659296&nid=695 > > Driveways in D.C. Now a No-Parking Zone > April 24, 2009 - 1:07am > anderson_2.jpg > > Beverly Anderson stands in her driveway - the exact spot where > she received a ticket from the city. (WTOP Photo/Mark Segraves) > Beverly Anderson is mad as hell. She just started to get tickets > for parking in her own driveway. > > That's right. The District of Columbia is ticketing people who > park their cars in their own driveways. > > "This is clearly an attempt by the city to extort money out of > property owners," Anderson tells WTOP. > > Anderson has received two of the $20 tickets in the past month. > Anderson has owned the Capitol Hill house (and the driveway, so > she thought) for more than ten years and has never gotten a > ticket. And she's not alone. > > It seems Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton has also been > breaking the law in the eyes of the D.C. Department of Public > Works. > > "Not only has the Congresswoman been ticketed in her own > driveway, she has received a towing ticket on her car parked in > her driveway," writes Sonsyrea Tate Montgomery, a spokesperson > for Norton. "She did what any other Member would do -and any > resident. She contacted her Council Member, Tommy Wells, who > assured her the Council will take care of this problem even if it > means passing a new law." > > D.C. Councilmember Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) says he's been getting > lots of complaints. > > "For the first time in anyone's memory," Wells says. "People are > starting to get ticketed in their own driveways. This is > ridiculous and we're going to get to the bottom of it." > > To that end, Wells called the Director of the Department of > Public Works, Bill Howland, to find out why his agency was > issuing these tickets. > > "I asked him what's going on," Wells said, "Is this some kind of > revenue raising or policy change? He said he'd get back to me." > > Wells said he asked Howland if his department would start issuing > warnings for first time offenders. > > "He said "No, we don't do that'," Wells said. "If the government > is going to be unreasonable about this then we're going to have > to look at changing the law." > > So what does the law say? > > "Any area between the property line and the building restriction > line shall be considered as private property set aside and > treated as public space under the care and maintenance of the > property owner." > > Basically what that means is most property owners in the District > don't own the land between their front door and the sidewalk, but > they are responsible for taking care of it. It's why you can get > a ticket for drinking beer on your front porch in the Nation's > Capital. You're technically on public space. It's also why the > city can ticket you for parking in your own driveway if you don't > pull your car deep enough into the driveway beyond the fa=E7ade > of your house or building. > > To be clear, we're not talking about people who park in shallow > driveways and let the rear of their cars block the sidewalk. The > cars are off the road, off the sidewalk and in the driveway - > just not far enough back for the city. > > "This is ludicrous," Anderson says, "We were three feet away from > the sidewalk. People have parked here for thirty years." > > When Anderson complained to a supervisor at DPW she was told that > she could lease the property from the District and avoid future > tickets. Anderson, who uses the house as a place of business to > see clients and regularly has several cars in her large three car > driveway, scoffs at that idea. "The city is not going to extort > money out of me," she says. > > Mike Carter, Deputy Director for DPW says nobody is extorting > money from anyone. > > "These regulations have been in effect for some time," Carter > says. "This is nothing new and we have been enforcing it > city-wide." > > Carter says the enforcement of the no parking on public space > regulation is done in a consistent manner and adds that "citizens > know they cant park in public space." > > But does the average citizen know that the first half of their > driveways are public space? > > Carter said he would take a closer look at how the regulation is > being enforced and get back to WTOP. > > As for the offer to lease the public space back to the property > owner, John Lisle with the District Department of Transportation > says there is an application process for such a permit. Lisle > says it could cost a property owner thousands of dollars per > year, but very few applications have been submitted over the > years. > > Wells promises a legislative solution to the problem if the Fenty > Administration doesn't do something. Councilmember Jim Graham > (D-Ward 1) who chairs the DPW oversight committee says he's > looking into it. > > "We're trying to work that out," Graham said, "These are people > who are in their driveways." > > In the meantime, Anderson isn't sure if she's going to pay her > tickets and be done with them or fight city hall. And no word on > whether Norton might invoke her congressional privilege and ask > that her ticket be excused. > > -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
