As if driving on a parkway and parking in a driveway isn’t confusing enough, a San Francisco couple was suddenly fined $1,540 for parking in their own driveway after doing it for decades.
Judy and Ed Craine told ABC affiliate KGO-TV that the San Francisco Planning Department is enforcing a decades-old section of code that bans motor vehicles of all kinds from being parked on a carpad or setback in front of a house unless it’s accompanied by a garage or cover.
“I wrote them back saying I thought this was a mistake,” Judy Craine said.
Added Ed Craine, “To all of a sudden to be told you can’t use something that we could use for years, it’s startling. Inexplicable.”
Adding insult to injury, the Craines faced the threat of paying a $250-per-day fee if they didn’t get the car off their carpad.
The Craines believe the space has been used for parking since the house was built in 1910. So the planning department told the couple that the city would waive the fine if they could prove that the lot has historically been used for parking. The couple believes the proof exists, thanks to a 1938 photo that shows a car — or a possibly a horse-and-buggy — pulling into the driveway of the home.
The city has since closed the case against the Craines and thrown out the fines after the couple agreed to no longer use the carpad. However, that may be under reconsideration if the 1938 aerial photo passes the test.