A South Florida woman is dealing with a bit of a parking problem. She says she can’t have more than a couple of people over without the police showing up.
They’ve gone from issuing warnings to writing tickets. It’s tonight’s Help Me Howard with Brandon Beyer.
Sarah Clarin says she’s fed up with parking restrictions in her Plantation neighborhood.
Sarah Clarin: “Anytime there’s more than 2 cars in front of my home, the police tend to show up.”
Sarah grew up in Plantation. A few years ago she and her husband bought a house here to be near family.
Sarah Clarin: “My mom lives here. My grandma lives here. So we wanted to be close to them.”
But anytime she has more than one or two people over to her house, Sarah says she has to warn them.
Sarah Clarin: “‘Hey, by the way, you can come over. The police are probably going to show up, you might get a ticket.'”
Since they’ve moved in, she says police have been called a dozen times.
Sarah Clarin: “Twelve times in the last four years.”
It’s a friendly exchange …
Sarah Clarin: “Every officer that has come out is like ‘I’m sorry I’m here.'”
But now they’re writing tickets.
Sarah Clarin: “But now they’re so fed up with the calls that they said they’re gonna come out and ticket randomly.”
And Sarah is calling for change.
Sarah Clarin: “I don’t care where we park, I just want a place to have people to come to my house without the police being called.”
Howard, she’s having play dates. Not loud parties. Where can she park this problem?
Howard Finkelstein: “The city has the right, and the power, to regulate parking as they see fit. However the present law is unworkable for some families and depriving them of quality of life. The city should look at modifying the law as it is to banning long term continuous parking. Doing so would protect the swales, while allowing homeowners to enjoy a family life the neighborhood was built for.”
We reached out to the city, and the mayor told us “coincidentally” several ordinances were up for discussion and parking was one of them.
Then a few weeks later Plantation’s chief administrative officer told us they’d met with “Police, Code Enforcement, and Zoning” and expect to bring a proposal to city council after they talk with their lawyers.
Sarah says she’s had it with her parking problem. Her raising the issue just might lead to changes in her neighborhood.
Sarah Clarin: “I just want to be able to have people over and to the house that I paid for, that’s all.”
Howard calls this a good example of balancing what cities need to do to keep things running smoothly and also working with growing neighborhoods. We’ll let you know if any of those parking rules get changed.
Got a problem? Need a hand? Here’s how you find us. It’s Help Me Howard. I’m Brandon Beyer, 7News.
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