Allow Parking of Noncommercial Pickups and SUV's HOA/City

Current laws in many cities and towns, as well as local homeowner association bylaws, forbid citizens from parking their operable and licensed vehicles in their own driveways.

The discrimination arises solely by the type of vehicle citizens find appealing but may not appeal to the arbitrary eye of the city or homeowner association. Residents and visitors must conceal these vehicles in the garage and in some cases park outside the community altogether.

Imagine, if you will, purchasing a brand new 2009 passenger car or truck, drive it home and park it in the driveway. Within days of your purchase you receive a notice that you are in violation of the communities parking restriction. Not because your vehicle is illegally parked nor that it is a commercial vehicle, because the model you chose is substandard in the opinion of those in authority.

The selective enforcement and ambiguity of these rules do nothing to promote the aesthetics of the community but only serve to discriminate against the individual’s expression as it regards his or her taste in automobiles. District and appellate court cases have ruled that subject laws are over-broad, unreasonable and unconstitutional when applied to passenger vehicles.

However, these bylaws and ordinances persist to flourish despite court rulings. It is time legislators get involved to put and end to this discriminatory practice.

I propose an amendment to all City and Homeowner Association related statutes, to include language that will give a resident the right to park a noncommercial passenger car or passenger truck in the driveway of their home regardless of the model they have chosen to own.