County says I have too many cars. HELP!, What can I do to get around this? Options

[bondo]

I got a letter saying that I have too many cars visible from the street. not parked on the street, just VISIBLE. In my own fricken DRIVEWAY! They say the limit is 2 per residence.. that's right, TWO. This is a three bedroom house, with enough driveway space to park 7 cars. It's an unincorporated part of the San Luis Obispo County called Los Osos. It's somewhat rural with no sidewalks and not even all the streets are paved. Somehow having cars in my driveway is a blight to the neighborhood? Come on. My first instinct is to build a giant sign that says "The county says I can only have two vehicles visible from the street, so I built this sign to hide them" and then put the cars behind it. Then when they complain about the sign I can claim freedom of speech. My dad owns the house (we pay rent), so there's no chance of getting evicted. Any suggestions how I can fight this? (the letter was actually sent to my dad) I moved here specifically to avoid this sort of ordinance that cities typically have.. who knew the county would come after me?

I'm pissed! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/headbang.gif)

--Royce
(6 cars and a 914)
(two are temporary)

[SpecialK]

build a giant sign that says "The county says I can only have two vehicles visible from the street, so I built this sign to hide them" (IMG:style_emoticons/default/headbang.gif)

Do it! Do it!


This is for your county assholes! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/finger.gif) :finger2: (IMG:style_emoticons/default/finger.gif)

[MrPitbull]

So they say... they can take a look at my yard...

[dflesburg]

That what you get when you live in the pansy ass state of California...

You can walk down the street tounge kissin another guy but can't smoke or have too many cars...

lol.

Move back to America... The midwest loves cars, we tolerate the gays. (They mostly drive rice anyway...)

[larryp]

Get the town regulation and post it. The devil is in the details, sometimes a badly worded reg is avoidable by a tarp.

[RON S.]

Welcome to Amerika in the 21st century.
These laws get passed,because of the apathy of each countys residents.
I mean that almost no-one goes to their county council meetings on any regular or ir-regular basis.This kinda shit gets passed,usually with no-one to voice opposition.
These laws are always put forth to people as ways for good,kind hearted,they care about you,LIBERALSSSSSS.Just trying to beautify the community.Believe me,these are the people you voted into office,and there like minded supporters do go to the council meetings.
1st they took away your rights as a parent to raise your kids the way you think they should be raised.Then they passed laws giving your pets more rights than you have.Now your beginning to realize you have no rights anymore as a landowner.
I got the same problem here,you should see all the privacy fences going up around my county.
The only way they'll take away my teener is when they pump me w/some lead.
Welcome to Amerika,circa 2004.
R

[machina]

I had to get my trailer out of my driveway beacause one of my neighbors complained to the city. Its only a small open trailer.

Worse part is that next block over a guy keeps a 38' motorhome on the swale. Difference is his neighbors aren't a**holes.

And we have at least 3 cars in our driveway at night and 5 during the day.

would love to move to the country.

dr

[East coaster]

If it helps, I can "store" a 914 for you for the summer (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[GaroldShaffer]

Same thing happen to me here in Indiana. Three car garage, with Wifes car, my teener, and small lift with a parts car on it. In the Drive my Truck and the other parts car. My solution was two fold:

1) Put a car cover over the outside parts car.

2) Here the new plates are flat, so scanned a copy of an old plate, glued it to cardboard and put it on the parts car. You can't tell from the street that its not real. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ph34r.gif)

I say try some car covers.

- Garold

[seanery]

honestly, i'd tell em to fuckoff. this isn't russia or china last time I checked. Those ordinances were put there because someone ran a shop out of their house and pissed off the neighbors. If you aren't doing that I'd fight it. Raise a stink, get your neighbors on your side. Call the local tv news. write a letter to the editor of your newspaper.

[Jake Raby]

If my county told me I had too manycars, I'd run the damn guy off my property! when those bastards PAY MY TAXES they can tell me what to do on my 20 acres, till then get the hell out of MY yard!

[Caveman]

One of the magazines I get is Classic Trucks magazine (I have a 54 Chevy Panel Van) and I remember when they were talking about this law a few years ago. Unfortunately it was brought up for peole that really deserved it, you know seven broke down clunkers in the front yard. But what everyone says is right: if your neighbors suck, you're going to suffer.

Each county can do their own thing in this case, but there's a couple of things you should do: write your congressman, cc the county agency that wrote you the letter, explaining your situation. Like I said, the law wasn't brought about for hobbyists, it was brought around for people that have crappy cars that break down, and don't have money to fix or move them, etc.

If they wanted to sieze your cars, they would have to have a written consent from you (fat chance) or a writ of entry (takes a good while) because its on private property. If they take anything without that, you can sue there pants off.

Go down to our county recorder's office and see if somebody filed a lien against you. It could be one of your neighbors or even the county. I'm guessing you don't belong to the home-owners association (man I hate those guys, usually only for condos).

So show us a pic of your driveway so we can see just how badly you're lowering the prop value in your neighborhood (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) Seriously, the law is pretty iffy about this kind of thing, but if somebody actually tows your cars, its not going to be easy or cheap t get them back.

[campbellcj]

I wish they had that law in the ritzy L.A. area where my in-laws live (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) I am sure their neighbors appreciate the beater cars in front of the $4mil houses or covered with blue tarps in the driveway. They had 11 cars at one point, now "only" 8 or so.

Those are the kinds of situations where the rules are appropriate and originally written for, I think.

At my place I think we have a CC&R that says we need to keep our garage clear enough to be "able to" park two cars inside out of view. I don't recall any CC&R or rule about vehicles parked in the driveway or on the street. I have left my racecar trailer out on the street for weeks before with no fuss from the neighborhood -- thank god as I don't want those kind of neighbors (IMG:style_emoticons/default/Yack.gif)

[markb]

Hmmm, they've changed it since I lived in Baywood Park in the 70's & 80's. They used to allow 3. I had to move 2 of my cars because of the county. I tried slightly to fight it, but it was no use. Good luck. If you need any assistance with the car(s), let me know. I travel from Arroyo Grande, to Hearst Castle 3 days a week.

[Scott S]

Is there a signature on the letter? If so, a quick internet search should bring up their address - go park them all at that persons house!

[fiid]

The US isn't going down the shitter and it isn't all the liberals fault or pansy ass California.

Firstly, I would find out exactly what the rules are and then have a friendly conversation with the county people and find out what their reaction would be to you putting up a fence.

You want to appear workable and amicable. If some of your cars are temporary, you could tell them that and ask them how they would like you to handle it, given the situation. Maybe you could get a temporary permit. Getting in a frenzy about it is really only going to make them dislike you more which means they will make your life harder.

Enough of this cold dead hands shit already. We aren't living in the wild west anymore - if you want gunfights over 914s, you probably need to move to Iraq.

[Jake Raby]

The first mistake is living in California! I stayed there two days after I got out of the Marines and got the hell out!

You can't "LIVE" there! Too many bastards concerned with what YOU do on your own damn land! Too many damn lines to wait in! Too many damn people to get in the way!

I'll take my old dirt road, and the ability to shoot my guns, make my noise and LIVE anyday over it, even if that means driving 20 minutes to see the first traffic light!

I feel sorry for you guys!

Gotta run, have 2316 on the dyno- its time to let everyone for 6 miles know how bad ass it is! (thats how far away you can hear it)

[fiid]

You ain't LIVING unless you can set off nukes that you can FEEL 20 miles away.

Right to bear arms doesn't mean guns anymore - you need to move on. Unless you have a small battery of missiles you're living in the dark ages. Ask Larry Ellison - or that guy in NZ that was building his own Cruise.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/boldblue.gif)

[lapuwali]

Jake, all respect, but if your impressions of CA were formed entirely in San Diego County (which I'd expect was so if you were a jarhead), then you haven't seen most of California. There are plenty of places here, still, where you can own a good-sized plot of land and not even hear your neighbors, let alone see them. I have friends who live in the Sierras who have thier phone line nailed to the nearest oak tree (this is an actual phone company regulation). There are counties in the far north half the size of Georgia with 5% of the population. Nobody bothers you up there.

It's all down to the neighborhood. I deliberately bought a house in what I call a plumbers and electricians area. Upper blue collar. The guy at the end of the street has two box trucks and a tow truck parked in front of his house regularly. Next door, the neighbor has three trucks and a jeep, all parked outside. No one complains about my 914 and two Minis. No one complains about satellite dishes, or going an extra week w/o cutting the lawn, or ...

I have, however, had neighbors in the Midwest (St. Louis: 12 years) whine because my grass was too high, or I had a rusty car in the drive with flat tires. There are nosy assholes all over. They're hardly unique to California.

[Joe Bob]

I probably know the guy that is busting yer balls....get in touch with me.....

Was the guy's name Geoff Simpson?