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May 20, 2006
Commercial Vehicles in HOAs - Have You Received Your Notice Yet?
A reader wrote the following note to me, searching for information on the subject: "We just recently purchased a condo in ____. My husband drives a company/commercial truck provided by his company. He's been parking in the common parking area and yesterday, one of the homeowners approached him and said that commercial vehicles are not permitted to park in the common areas of the community. He further stated that eventually they will tow vehicles violating this rule. We have not reviewed our CC&R's but is this not discriminatory?"
The simple answer is "No", it is not discriminatory. People often confuse the term. "Discrimination" occurs when one party does something to another that violates their constitutional rights. These rights are identified in Constitutions, with federal rights being consistent among Americans because of the United States Constitution. States may add another layer of rights through voter referendums and so added rights vary among the state constitutions - California being one of the front runners in identifying and protecting rights. Still, the right to park a commercial vehicle in a residential association is not a fundamental right in any constitution I am aware of.
The other time the word "discrimination" surfaces in the HOA context , although still not technically appropriate in a legal sense, is when the Board enforces a rule inconsistently among owners or imposes a restriction on one or fewer than all of the owners. People tend to use the word loosely as in, "They discriminated against me by towing my truck and not the neighbors." The correct legal cause of action in that case would be breach of fiduciary duty for inconsistent enforcement of the rules. (A bunch of legal jargon I know but it is important not to misconstrue discrimination claims if you want to sound like you know what you are talking about.)
Getting back to the commercial vehicle and possible restriction in the documents. Actually, it is a very common restriction in residential community associations. I did not ask for the details in this case but it you are interested in finding out about your association, and you are in California, pull out the docs you got in the purchase of your property and look. Most likely it would appear in the CC&Rs - aka the Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (hence the shortcut CC&Rs name). It probably is there in some form. It may be very general - look for a section on "uses" and you will probably find some language prohibiting commercial vehicles (if you live in a residential community). In other states, your regulatory document may be called something else like "Deed Restrictions" , but I am referring to the recorded regulatory document as the most likely place to find such a restriction.
Then, Boards sometimes expand on what is or is not allowed by providing more descriptive details on what they interpret to be commercial vehicles, in the rules. Some boards focus on signs, racks, ladders, size, and obtrusiveness (level of offense to the systems - or simply put "how ugly is it?"). Many commercial vehicles do not fit very well in parking spaces, carports, or garages and many people do not like to look at a big yellow tow truck or "The Bug Van" with a big black spider covering the entire exterior, in the neighbor's driveway or street in front of their house. So its understandable that there are restrictions. On the other hand, since pickup trucks and the like are required to purchase commercial plates, some might consider them commercial vehicles but it seems overkill to try and ban pickup trucks used for transportation. They are "hot" after all, aren't they? They are even marketing special models for females these days, and a well kept truck would likely be more aesthetically pleasing than your average beat up older model gray honda even to a non-truck person.
Back to the question at hand, how offensive is a regular size vehicle, truck, van or otherwise, with a sign on the side or on the back? Some Boards deal with this by suggesting that owners may use magnetic signs so long as they remove them when the vehicle is parked in the development. Some let it be and don't have such a "suggestion" or rule.
In any event, its not discrimination in the true sense of the word. That word is a trigger that sets people off so if you want to approach an issue with the Board or any other person and want the other party to listen to your plea, I suggest you keep that word in your pocket. It would be "inconsistent" treatment if the Board does not enforce the restriction consistently among owners, and that word is not usually the kind of word that, when used, causes the listener to shut out everything else that is said after it.
So take another look at the situation, and look for a reasonable solution. Perhaps there are questions that need to be asked - like whether there are any rules that clarify the interpretation of what a commercial vehicle is, whether the vehicles can be parked in the garage, etc. In one situation a client of mine was involved in, the employer let the worker drive a smaller truck home at night so it would fit in his garage.
And boards cannot really ban all pickup trucks, broncos and the like used for personal use (I am not talking about cross-over vehicles used for personal and commercial use here) just because someone does not like trucks. A common problem in being to literal is that because of a case quite a few years ago that established that one man's bronco is another mans rolls royce. boards are hard pressed to prohibit such vehicles. (Keep in mind this is not legal advice, just information.)
Since there are so many varied HOAs in this state (California), I will not go into what limits are right or wrong for any particular one. This is something I discuss with a client if they want to get more clarification written into rules on what they can allow and what they cannot allow. I appreciate a board that wants to fit the rule with the community lifestyle so it can be enforced without starting a civil war.
Posted by Beth Grimm at May 20, 2006 9:22 AM