Folks - this is happening in Dorchester as well...
Illegal parking lots pockmark Brighton neighborhood
Boston Globe | January 14, 2007
Tipster Phillip Tackel tells GlobeWatch that life in his Brighton neighborhood is a little like the lament from that Joni Mitchell song: "They've paved paradise and put up a parking lot." Tackel said he has been pestering city officials unsuccessfully for years about a rash of homeowners near Cleveland Circle who have decided to solve the area's parking crunch by paving their yards and putting in illegal parking lots.
More than a dozen homes on Englewood Avenue , Kilsyth Road , Kinross Road , Lanark Road , Selkirk Road , Sutherland Road , Strathmore Road , and Wallingford Road have cleared front, side, or back yards to accommodate often up to 12 vehicles at a single address, said Tackel. A recent visit by a Globe reporter found some had painted dividing lines on pavement to make the lots appear legitimate, while others simply squeezed cars on dirt and grass against the home's foundation.
City zoning laws require property owners to get a permit before altering their driveways or homes.
Tackel notes that City Weekly wrote about the problem in 2003, but said things have only gotten worse since then. "It's about greed," Tackel said of absentee landlords with once large, single-family homes that have been turned into condominiums or apartments. Street parking is scarce and homeowners have been unable to resist the lure of extra cash by renting illegal spaces for $150-$200 a month each, he said.
Enforcement officers are out "every once in a while" to cite homeowners, said Tackel, but the fines are not large enough to deter most from continuing the practice.
"It diminishes the quality of life here," said Tackel. "Who wants to live facing a parking lot?"
A code enforcement officer from the city's Inspectional Services Division visited Tackel's neighborhood Wednesday and issued citations to 14 homeowners for violating the city's zoning ordinance, said Captain Michael Mackan, who oversees code enforcement.
During an evening inspection of the same area on Dec. 14, enforcement officers found more than 100 cars parked in illegally enlarged driveways and parking lots, said Mackan. Some vehicles blocked sidewalks or were unregistered and abandoned. They issued 14 citations to these landlords and fined them $150 a piece. Fines jumped to $300 each for last week's round of tickets because it was the second violation for most in the last 12 months, said Mackan, who blames absentee landlords renting apartments to college students.
Violators have 21 days to either pay the fine or file an appeal with the state Housing Court, where the case is brought before a clerk magistrate, he said.
Though vehicles were parked in illegal lots, the cars' owners were not fined. "It's up to property owners to maintain their property up to state" building, zoning, and sanitary codes, said Lisa Timberlake, a department spokeswoman. Timberlake said the department has held many community meetings to inform residents of the law. "If you're renting, you need to inform tenants of what's allowable," she said.
Officers will be stepping up surveillance of the neighborhood, checking the area twice a week if needed, said Mackan. "If we find out we have to be more aggressive, we will," he said.
WHO'S IN CHARGE?
William Good, commissioner
Inspectional Services Department
1010 Mass. Ave., 5th floor, Boston, MA 02118
617-635-5300
