Who moved my cheese car?
Everyone’s talking about snow emergency parking. What about abandoned car towing? Clearly homeowners with garages/backyards and renters without access to off-street parking have different opinions. This Seward resident’s concern is that he’s being penalized for using public transit.
I can see the homeowner’s concern that they lose access to street in front of their house. What if they have company? And nobody wants a beater in front of their house for months at a time. But the street is public and apartment dwellers have company, too. Having never been a homeowner but most certainly been a renter confined to on-street parking, I’m most definitely fall on the “the street belongs to everybody” side of the fence.
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I really think this is a stupid law. Abandoned cars, in my opinion, don’t run and have expired and/or no tags or plates. What really irks me is if an apartment dweller goes out of town for a week and faces the possibility of getting towed, simply for getting on an airplane. Silliness.
What if you take your car out for a 15 minute spin once a day and come back and park it in the same spot, but the nosy neighbor who’s spying on you never sees that?
I think there definitely needs to be a better definition of abandoned car. I also think it’d be nice and neighborly if, at all possible, you ask the car owner about it before calling the cops on someone.
I’ve been tuned into this situation in Mpls. for many years, during different stretches as a homeowner and a renter. In both cases I’ve always warned newcomer neighbors to be aware of the risk.
I don’t think you’d have a problem if you drove it briefly each day but parked it in the same spot, because they make a chalk mark on a tire, so it would be apparent that the vehicle had moved.
It’s long been my understanding that an unspoken rationale behind the law is to hasten the detection of stolen cars that have been abandoned by those who swiped them. That part probably makes some sense.
Compared to how it is in many suburbs, we have it good here in Mpls. in that we can use the street for overnight parking. Out in a lot of the burbs you’ve gotta make your overnight guests park in your driveway.
In theory I agree — streets are public, and spots in front of houses should not be preserved. Special assessments levied against facing property owners for road repairs put the issue in a different light — if only the people living on or owning businesses on the street pay for its maintenance is it still a public street, or have we, society, made it a private street?
That’s a great point. This came up with the movement to get new/more street lights, too. It’s coming up with the road paving in Como. If the condition of the street affects your property value, of course you’re going to want to have some say.
So where’s the happy medium?
See the St Paul ordinance:
Sec. 163.01. Definitions.
The following definitions and terms shall apply in the interpretation and enforcement of the chapter:
(1) Disabled. For the purposes of this chapter, “disabled” means partially or completely dismantled or appearing either to be undrivable or to be lacking any of those parts of a motor vehicle which are essential to the functioning of the vehicle, including, but not limited to, the motor, drive train and wheels.
(2) Abandoned motor vehicle. “Abandoned motor vehicle” means a motor vehicle, as defined in Minnesota State Statutes, Section 169.01, which has been voluntarily surrendered by its owner to the City of Saint Paul or to a person duly licensed under Minnesota Statutes, Section 168B.10 or which has remained for more than forty-eight (48) hours in a condition described by one of the following:
a. On public property in violation of either the Saint Paul Legislative Code or Minnesota Statutes;
b. On private property without consent of the person in control of the property;
c. Disabled;
d. Not secure from entry;
e. Without license plates conspicuously displayed thereon; or
f. With license plates which have an expiration date more than ninety (90) days prior to the date of inspection.
(3) Abandoned motor vehicle–Exemptions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following vehicles shall not be considered abandoned motor vehicles:
a. A classic or pioneer car, as defined in Minnesota Statutes, Section 168.10; provided, that it is kept secure and as long as it has substantial potential further use consistent with its usual functions;
b. Vehicles on the premises of a motor vehicle and parts dealer, junkyard, junk dealer, motor vehicle salvage dealer, automobile repair garage, or body ship who is licensed under Chapters 401, 408,422, or 423 of the Saint Paul Legislative Code;
c. A vehicle kept inside an enclosed garage or storage building;
d. A vehicle which is registered to the owner or occupant of the property and which is being kept for repair on the property; provided, that the vehicle is kept for no longer than thirty (30) days in a disabled condition and is kept secure from entry; and provided, that only one disabled vehicle may be kept on the property at any given time.
(Code 1956, § 467.01; Ord. No. 17377, § 1, 7-29-86)
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So, your car has to be in some bad shape for 48 hours before they’ll consider it abandoned. I don’t see why Minneapolis couldn’t adopt similar conditions to their 72 hour rule.
Wow. Hot topic here and back at the issues forum.
I’m a homeowner in Seward. Some things to think about (at least I think about them).
Neighborhoods are different. Uptown area with all the apt buildings has very congested parking so you park where you can. Very few choices.
Seward (and other more residential) neighborhood where parking is less congested, there are more choices.
“The streets belong to everybody.” OK. Within the law (even if you don’t agree with like the 72-hour law in Mpls).
Neighborhood harmony. In non-congested neighborhoods you will achieve more harmony by not long-term parking (whether legal or not) your car in front of someone else’s pad be they a renter or owner. In the winter, long-term nesting in front of someone else’s street access sidewalk is really bad form.
So I would suggest, again for neighborhood harmony, that you park kind of between houses if you can’t park directly in front of your house and /or move your vehicle a day or so later if you have it right in front of a neighbor’s house.
I live in uptown and the parking is tight. My wife and I went home for thanksgiving and I parked the car on Wednesday night and came back Sunday to find it was towed under the abandoned rule. The car is only 6 years old, has current tabs, and definitely does not look abandoned. What am I as a renter supposed to do? Go to my homeowner neighbors before I go out of town and tell them not to tow it?
“What am I as a renter supposed to do? Go to my homeowner neighbors before I go out of town and tell them not to tow it?”
Chris -
My post is about maintaining neighborhood harmony. There is still the issue of vacations beyond 72 hours if you live in Minneapolis. I think the St. Paul statute has merit as does permit parking in neighborhoods as does an extension of the 72-hour limit to 5 days (many of these discussed in more detail at the eDemocracy Minneapolis Issues forum that Erica links to).
Another issue I didn’t bring up here is outliers who use the inner city neighborhood streets for parking so they can hop a bus.
There are no easy answers for this issue although a better transit system would certainly help.
Here’s another situation to consider — Space for large delivery trucks or moving vans to park. When we moved into our house, which is near the uptown area, this was serious issue which had a major impact on the family moving out of the house we were trying to move into.
Since the block has several duplexes and apartment buildings, parking is very tight. The previous owners of our house tried to plan head for their moving day. During the previous week, they moved their own cars onto the street in front to try to stake out a spot for the moving van to park. However, there was a car in the way that never budged from its spot. Since it had been there for more than 72 hours, they had it tagged as abandoned, but unfortunately, it was not towed by moving day. When the moving van arrived, there was no place for it to park. The movers waited around an hour or so, but no space opened up, so they ended up leaving. That family ended up having to move their entire household themselves using a couple of small trucks.
I don’t know if this situation could have been avoided or handled in some better way, but it’s the type of thing that needs to be accounted for.