A pair of signs placed in a residential neighborhood aim to deter local apartment dwellers from parking on public streets, but it is unclear if they are legally permitted.
The signs first appeared on Dec. 20, on two entrances to the Classics on Leigh Street and Bello Road, a Bradley Square housing development on Bradley Road in Santa Maria. The entrances are across the street from the Montiavo at Bradley Square apartment complex.
The signs appeared amid concern about apartment residents parking in the neighborhood, despite language in the city municipal code that allows parking on public streets.
Don Gheno, a resident who spoke to the Sun on Dec. 21, said that while he was not involved in the process or aware of the signs, the homeowners association was likely prompted to place the signs due to neighborhood concerns over parking issues. He said he was glad to see the signs.
“Basically everybody from the apartments was parking right there,” Gheno said. “It was people that didn’t live here. They need to have adequate parking for their tenants over there. Not over here.”
Gheno said he was concerned about trash being left behind by those parking on streets in the development as well. The entranceway on Leigh Street was recently marked as a fire zone, which Gheno said may have prompted the HOA to place the no parking signs.
“After they painted it red, they were parking … right in front of … other people’s houses,” he said. “Instead of parking where the red was, they were just coming on into the neighborhood.”
The Classics at Bradley Square is managed by Aurora Property Services in San Luis Obispo. A representative for the company referred the matter to the homeowners association’s president, Greg Webster. Citing inactivity in the HOA due to an illness, Webster said he was unaware of the issue and referred the Sun to another representative. That representative was not reachable via phone as of press time.
The signs do not appear to meet requirements for parking restrictions laid out in the city’s traffic regulations, which allow for public parking on city streets for up to 72 hours.
According to section 7-5.10 of the city’s traffic regulations, regarding the posting of no parking zones, “the make, size, and height … shall first have been approved by the city engineer.” The city engineer’s office was unavailable for comment on whether anyone from the homeowner’s association had contacted the office regarding the signs.
The city’s traffic regulations also state that parking on public streets is permissible up to 72 hours; beyond that time period police are authorized to remove the vehicle. A Santa Maria Police Department spokesperson for the traffic bureau, which regulates city parking, was not available for comment.
Representatives for Montiavo did not provide a comment by press time.
This article appears in Dec 27, 2018 – Jan 3, 2019.