Wednesday, April 29, 2009

D.C.-get ticketed for parking in your own driveway!


(Beverly Anderson stands in her driveway - the exact spot where she received a ticket from the city. (WTOP Photo/Mark Segraves) So what does the law say?

"Any area between the property line and the building restriction line shall be considered as private property set aside and treated as public space under the care and maintenance of the property owner."

Basically what that means is most property owners in the District don't own the land between their front door and the sidewalk, but they are responsible for taking care of it. It's why you can get a ticket for drinking beer on your front porch in the Nation's Capital. You're technically on public space. It's also why the city can ticket you for parking in your own driveway if you don't pull your car deep enough into the driveway beyond the façade of your house or building.

To be clear, we're not talking about people who park in shallow driveways and let the rear of their cars block the sidewalk. The cars are off the road, off the sidewalk and in the driveway - just not far enough back for the city.

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