Community Parking

New Parking Policy Effective September 1, 2008

 

Effective September 1, 2008, homeowners, residents, guests and prospective home buyers will be able to drive through our community without having to navigate around illegally and improperly parked cars. Emergency vehicles will be able to quickly access all of our homes. You will be able to enter and exit your driveways without fear of hitting your neighbor’s car, running over plants or hitting a curb.

For those of you who are new to the neighborhood, our builder was granted a variance by the City of Smyrna that allowed our street width requirements to be narrower than city codes require. Our builder was allowed to build and sell more homes, and we were left with the responsibility to manage our streets and the resulting parking situation. The current board has met with city officials and attorneys over the last six months and has now adopted a new parking policy. The board has also decided to outsource enforcement, so that the new policy is applied uniformly and avoids the neighbor-against-neighbor confrontations that have sometimes resulted from previous board enforcement efforts.

The following is a summary of the new parking rules that will go into effect on September 1, 2008.

Although the new parking policy will be effective September 1, the community’s current towing policy and practices will remain in effect for an additional 30 days. Effective, October 1, 2008, all illegally or improperly parked vehicles will be subject to immediate tow, without warning. Improperly parked vehicles include, but are not limited to, vehicles parked opposite the flow of traffic and vehicles parked so that they impede traffic or prevent others from using adjacent designated parking spaces. Vehicle owners will be responsible for all towing and storage fees. Again, towing will be immediate and warnings will NOT be issued after October 1, 2008.

The following is a summary of the new parking policy:

• No parking will be permitted on community streets, except in a limited number of clearly designated spaces. No parking will be permitted at any time on Highlands View Drive. The designated spaces have been located throughout the community, off Dunrobin Drive and Highlands View Drive, on Iona Abbey Court, Stuart Castle Way and Mony Stone Court. There also will be one space each in the turn-arounds on Dunrobin, Iona Abbey and Mony Stone. (See attached map.)
• Parking will be prohibited at all times in red-zoned areas, which include within 15 feet on either side of a fire hydrant.

• Residents are required to use their own garages and driveways to park their personal vehicles. The new designated street parking spaces and the parking area adjacent to the mail center should be reserved for guests and temporary resident parking. All parking is on a first-come, first-serve basis.
• No vehicle shall remain parked on the street in a designated space or at the mail center for more than 48 hours.

• Parking of resident-owned vehicles in the pool lot shall be limited to fourteen (14) days. To request additional time, please contact the board for permission.

• As always, no commercial vehicles, vans, recreational vehicles, trailers and moving pods may be parked on community streets or in personal driveways. Moving vans and vehicles of contractors and service providers who are actively servicing a home may park temporarily on community streets during that service visit provided that the vehicles are attended and can be moved immediately upon request and/or in the event of an emergency. Moving pods will be permitted in driveways only with advance notice to the Board and for no more than 48 hours. Residents must notify the Board before arranging for delivery of a moving pod.

The board has retained the services of a private security company to enforce these new parking rules. Off-duty police officers will patrol the community on a random basis at least once a day on weekdays/nights and more frequently on weekends. They will be authorized to ticket illegally and improperly parked vehicles and to arrange and supervise their towing.

The board maintains a contract with Howard’s Wrecker Service to tow illegally and improperly parked vehicles. The company’s phone number is (770) 432-2613. The fee for retrieving a towed vehicle is $125. Additional fees for storage will apply and vary based on the amount of time the vehicle is stored and certain other factors.