Parking in the Host’s Driveway: a Violation of the Bylaws

Recently, my automobile was parked in the driveway of a home in Turtlerock Vista while my son and some friends visited the owner of that home. As the group of friends stood around their automobiles outside that residence before entering, they were scrutinized by one of the paid security patrols and nothing amiss was brought to their attention.

On leaving, my son found a note from the homeowners’ association advising that parking in one’s driveway is against association rules and requesting immediate removal of the car.

The disturbing aspect of this was that the note had been affixed by a spray adhesive that had been sprayed generously and vindictively over the entire windshield, the roof, the front door pillars and the sunroof of this new car.

A police officer who saw the car called this manner of attaching a warning “ridiculous.” It was impossible to remove a layer of paper on the windshield, which created an unsafe driving condition.

Was the intent to render the vehicle unusable for as long a time as possible, to exact a heavy penalty in damages? Is this a reasonable or civilized way to inform a visitor of an obscure association bylaw that is not posted on the streets and which is known only to residents? In fact, we have lived within a few blocks of Turtlerock Vista for 15 years and were unaware of the bylaw.

In Turtlerock, as in most areas of the civilized world, it is generally assumed that one can park a car in one’s host’s driveway, especially when there is no other space nearby.

A check with the company responsible for the security patrol of Turtlerock Vista the night of the incident said that their agent had not placed the notice and that the notice in question was of a form used by officers of the association, not by the patrols.

What kind of person goes around the neighborhood between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. with a spray can of adhesive smearing the entire front of a car to post a trivial warning? This guardian of association standards never bothered to ring the doorbell to advise of the emergency that required “immediate removal” of this supposed hazard or blot on the night landscape.

LOUIS SELLIER

Irvine