Just venting...

My boat got towed today. My buddy and I were getting gas and I see this boat going by, I'm thinking, "cool, looks like mine..." because it is mine.
I park it on the street (about every third block in my neighborhood has a boat parked on the street) and I got a note on it a week or so ago saying someone had complained, so I pulled it around the block and then parked it in basically the same place, which is fine. But it got towed anyway. So now I've got to deal with getting it back from the towing place, and then I'm going to call the police and see if I can appeal it or something and try to get reimbursed (anyone want to give me odds on that;) and then I guess I'll go around the neighborhood and see who complained to try to work it out with them. Thing is there's plenty of parking around, and my boat's covered and not a piece or anything... I don't understand why the person didn't talk to me or something. Would have been a lot easier for me. And I'm just going to put my boat back in the same spot. Oh well.

wow, that sucks! my guess? it's an old lady who has nothing better to do than to gossip and complain about her unruly boat owning neighbors.

CC&R's suck dont they!!!!

Read your CC&R's carefully. All you have to do is move it every 48-72 hours and put it in a different place each time and you should be covered.

And for all of you that don't know what CC&R's are, dont bother asking, you will soon find out if you ever own a home.

Hmmm...usually you get red tagged and notified of intentions to tow. That really sucks I would be pissed too. Looks like you might have to find a storage unit. Getting towed will get expensive.

Hey Spleen, Your odds of winning an appeal is about zero, give or take a few percentage points...Lloyd is probably right about a busy-body neighbor....If you gotta deal this again, move it a reasonable distance, cuz the copper who comes ,can see it's been moved. Check the muni codes for area, or ask your local cop friend, if you got one handy...

As for CC&R's, they are civil, and have no legal teeth without the laws to back them. It's usually just the local muni codes that are enforced cuz granny thinks you're bringin' property values down. CC&R's are, in practicality, a contract you agree to, that makes it easier for the griping neighbors to sue you for compliance ...If your immediate area neighbors are ok with you, it may not even be winnable. I believe CC&R's can even be altered at some point...

Not to be confuzzed with an association, which authorizes action by the residents' representatives.

Good luck!! I have 2 such neighbors myself...

Spleen,

Where was your boat at, and what street was it on? I can try and check with a motor buddy of mine, and see what it may have been towed for. There are muni code and vehicle code sections.

Let me know.

that is why i am moving out of my HOA, to a city with no HOA's and no chance of ever having one.

Not CC&R's, it's SDMC. Like you guys said, I did get a warning, specifically stating the law, ie it has to be moved (gross, not net) 1/10 mile every 72 hours. So I drove it around the block and parked it in more or less the same spot. They chalked the sidewall of the tire. I'm not really sure how that says anything about whether or not I moved it (they didn't mark the spot on the ground, which would have helped).
Anyway, just went down to the towing place, I'll be able to pick it up tomorrow on my lunch break. Towing cost is like 285, ticket is 41. I called and am being sent the form you fill out if you think your vehicle was improperly towed. I know it's a long shot but I'll try. Just read this on the back of my ticket, "A parking citation is not a criminal offense in California. The recipient of a parking citation has the burden of proof." Lookin' good for me;)
Anyway, I figure I'll leave a polite note with all my neighbors, asking whoever complained to get in touch with me. Bottom line is, I own a boat and I'm storing it on the street by my house, so people complaining will make it a pain in the ass for me, but it's not going to alleviate their problem.
BTW, it was parked up around Santa Monica and Gizot in Ocean Beach, if you've ever been around there you know how many boats are parked on the street. And don't even get me started on the RVs

Ohhhhhhhhhhhh I feel your pain. My cowardly neighbor "anonimously" complained multiple times to the Property Manager about my boat which was new, in my drive way and never there for more than 3 days (I had off site storage). I eventually sold that house but not before getting my revenge. You see the property manager started getting complaints about the noise level her kids made and the new harley starting up before 8am on Sunday mornings

Man,that sucks.I have an anus neighbor myself.Luckily his focus is on someone eles right now.This guy called the city everyday,til he took the awning that covered his boat,down.Now the city is watchin the hood.I don't think they noticed the illegal boathouse I built yet.

Ha, My wife lived in Santa Monica for awhile while I dated her in the 80’s. Why don’t they tow the bums I had to step over all the time? Thanks for making February in Ohio just a little more bearable. ;)

SD2

If this works, this is my new home for my new boat. The tail lights on the left go to a trailer and the chains on the right go to my 18' fishing boat.

But I am in Ohio, so maybe it all evens out

Hey people around me are just as anal. I am not sure why there is ever a problem with a boat etc as long as its not up on blocks and full of holes. I know I am in Canada but I found out through my local cops that if I had a vehical attached to the boat...it never had to be moved. So I attched it to the truck and would never leave the trailer alone for more then 6 hours. Drove the %^$* next door crazy. I loved it. But is there any chance that is an option for you down there?

Jase

We make an attempt to have our boat be the least amount of an eye sore a 23ft boat can be, right now its in stealth mode:

Wait, where's the boat? All I see is a house & some nice plants/trees. Hmm hyperlitenerd, did your boat get towed as well? Good luck with that.

Well, I don't know about your area specifically but where I work it has to be a motorized vehicle to be parked on the street. Yes, I know a boat has a motor but I think you get my drift. Boats, campers, trailers are a no-no.

I do, however, sympathize with you. I get calls all the time regarding abandoned vehicles. If it's parked in front of the owner's home I will be lenient. That said, the street should not be your personal storage area, so I'll only bend so far. I've seen new sub-divions go in and a section eight will drop off five or six hoopties on both sides of the roadway.

David, is that a state or city law? I'm in Washington also.

CC&Rs have their good and bad place. The good is that they tend to keep property values high because it doesn't let one or two properties become eye-sore's on the rest of the neighborhood. Just remember when you purchase a piece of property, you're agreeing to abide by the CC&Rs that is essentially a contract. If you're not ready to abide by them, don't buy the property.

Personally, as a resident volunteer for CC&R enforcement in my neighborhood, I have some discretion when sending out a freindly neighbor letter to a property that is potentially in violation. Many times people don't even know they are in violation and a friendly letter clears it up. I will wait 10 days before sending a letter about a boat or RV parking situation. That is usually plenty of time for someone to clean it up and return it to storage or into their garage.

County Code Cal. You should check your local jurisdiciton.
http://www.clark.wa.gov/ord/index.htm

Do what David said, Last summer I got a warning from the police that it is a county code violation (it was reported by by a unnamed neighbor also!). I moved te boat bout 4 feet from were it was cause I was getting up early for morning rides coming home and cleaning the boat til night fall. They came back and wanted to ticket I explained I just got home and they said after a warning it must be off city streets for at least 72 hours! I did find out who the personwas that complained and confronted them in my Navy uniform and that persons tone has changed 180!!!

In arizona if you have to move a vehicle parked on the street after 72 hours but it doesn't matter how far you move it so ya you have a good chance to get refunded.

I used to have a neighbor who had a POS boat in his driveway and a POS truck in the street. It really made the area look like crap. You need to look at it both ways. Sorry your boat got towed but you just cant drive it around the block and think that everything is cool.

No, you can do exactly that: drive it around the block (assuming the block is 1/10 mile around) once every 72 hours and park it in the exact same spot(this is in San Diego). Of course there's two sides to every story, and the flip side here would be a POS RV sitting up on blocks parked in front of someone else's house. Two points: 1) My boat's in good shape and I keep it covered, it's not right in front of anyone's house, there's plenty of parking and it's a wide street, and all the neighbors I've talked to like me, my boat, and think it's cool that I have one and park it there. 2) The law is so technically strict that people are constantly violating it (if you go on vacation for three days, or what if you have a long weekend off of work and just walk around town?). So now all it takes is someone complaining and you can get fined, even though you're doing what everyone else does. (Like when the speed limit was 55, it would have been pretty ridiculous to have everyone driving 65, and just have random people get ticketed). I know a boat is different than leaving your car there for three days once a year, but everyone around here has boats, so it sort of sucks to get singled out.

kill that bitch narc