Condo Talk Parking Decals Reveal Identity! By Kay Senay D.B. (Florida) asks: “Kay, effective this year, we must place a parking decal on the exterior of our vehicle’s rear window. My place of living and spot number are advertised. For 20 years, it has been on the bumper. If someone follows me back to the complex, they would immediately know where 554 vehicles park. I can’t believe the Board can’t be more concerned about our safety.” Dear D.B.: Parking is one of the largest problems in community associations. The problems come in many forms---not enough spaces, assigned vs. unassigned, guest parking, etc. How to “police” the parking rules is very difficult. You raise a good question. For the benefit of all readers, let me state some of the reasons decals are used. Who designates the parking areas? The Developer identifies parking on the map, plat, or plan of the complex that he must file in the local land records office before any units are built. This plan is normally filed along with the governing documents. Who sets the parking rules? The Board of Directors can set rules about the use of the parking spaces. Creation and enforcement of the parking rules are especially important where the parking spaces are either outside or in detached garages/carports. What are examples of the typical parking rules? Residents may only park in their assigned spaces. Residents are allowed a maximum of two guest parking spaces at one time (this number varies among associations). Residents must inform their guests of the parking rules. Only vehicles displaying handicap parking permits may use the designated handicap parking spaces. All of the residents’ vehicles must have an association parking decal, sticker, or permit. Owners in violation of the parking rules may be subject to violation fines. Vehicles in violation of the condominium association’s parking rules are subject to ticketing and/or towing at the owner’s expense. The Board can create more rules than those listed above. However, these are standard in most associations. Many use decals to assure owners are parking correctly, as is your Board. By doing so, there will be enough spaces for not only the residents, but also their guests. The biggest challenge is what information will be on the decal. You could suggest to your Board that in order to protect the identity of the residents, a symbol (star, flower, tree, etc.) and a number to identify the association and the parking space would suffice. The color of the decal could be changed every year. The shape may be changed from year to year. Also, you could suggest to your Board that they permit the decal to be on either the bumper or the rear window at the owner’s discretion. Kay Senay is the author of CONDO BUYING & OWNERSHIP MADE SIMPLE: TIPS TO SAVE TIME & MONEY. Visit her website at www.condo-condominium.com for a FREE TIP SHEET. Send your questions and stories to Kay at condotalk07@yahoo.com.

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