Couple got fined for parking in their own Driveway

A couple was fined $1,500 for parking in their own driveway. The officials say it was based on decades old pin code.

 Highlights

• A couple were fined for parking in their own driveway. 
• They were fined a good amount of $1,500. 
• This incident happened in San Francisco. 
• The officials of the area said the fine was based on age- old pin codes. 

A couple was fined for parking their car in the driveway in front of their own home. Judy and Ed Craine parked their cars in their driveway for decades until recently they received a fine of 1,500 with a $250 per day if they don’t get the car off the spot.

Parking in the golden city can be very hard and tricky with the steep hills and busy streets. Craine couple says they are lucky to have their very own spot for the last 36 years.

The couple told the media that the planning department of San Francisco is still enforcing a decades-old section of codes that do not allow vehicles from being parked on a car pad.

Judy Craine said that she has written to them by saying that this was a mistake. Ed Craine adds that it is inexplicable and startling to all of a sudden to be told you can use something you used for the past 36 years. 

Craine believes that the driveway was always a parking space since the house was built in 1910.

The planning department said to the Craine couple that if they can prove that the space was used as a parking lot historically, then they will waive the fine. To prove this, the couple has even provided a picture of their daughter from 34 years ago, but the officials said that the picture is not old enough. 

 Anonymous complaint against the couple

The couple were really upset and worried about the situation. After a lot of googling, they came up with a blurry aerial photo from 1938 which shows a car or a horse and buggy pulling into the driveway of the house. The department of planning said they were never shown this picture and they will reconsider the couple’s issue. 

The chief of staff at the San Francisco Planning department, Daniel A. Sider has told the media that the aerial photo was never shared with the department.

He further said that they found out about it during the Friday broadcast on ABC news. To end this matter, they will be opening the issue and hope to have more clarity about everything. 

The department was alerted about the couple using the driveway by an anonymous complaint last year that was filed against the Craines and two of their neighbors, who are also tagged in the violation.

The Municipal Code is banning new permits until outstanding code issues on the property are over. Sider also said that the code is decades old due to aesthetic reasons. 

As of now there is no further proceeding against the Craine couple.