Used car sales annoy Santa Rita homeowners Used car sales annoy Santa Rita homeowners (November 11, 2005)

City adds more 4-hour limits to free up parking
by Jeb Bing

Private car sales on city streets just lost more premium space this week as city officials agreed to restrict parking on the east side of Santa Rita Road to a maximum of four hours.

The four-hour zone doubles the parking restrictions already in place on the west side of Santa Rita from Safeway to Black Avenue.

The action came at the request of homeowners along the Santa Rita frontage road who complained that the four-hour parking restrictions across Santa Rita from their homes had caused car owners to move their vehicles to their side of the street, where there are no restrictions.

Several speakers identified cars, and even a boat and a motor home, that were marked for sale that had been parked near their homes for days at a time. Police told them that there is no law preventing owners from parking their cars and advertising them for sale on public streets, although cars must be moved every 72 hours.

Vance Thornburg, who lives at Cristobal Way and Santa Rita, said he has had prospective buyers knock on his door to see if he owns the cars out front and can talk about them.

"This has gotten out of hand and is having a terrible effect on the quality of life for those of us who live here," he said. "I've checked out the phone numbers and they're from area codes all over the place, not just Pleasanton. The word is that this is the place where you take your cars to sell. It's sad."

Police Chief Tim Neal said that at one time, the city posted signs and enforced an ordinance that said motorists could not advertise their cars for sale while parking on Santa Rita. But the U.S. Supreme Court, in a case involving a similar law in another city, ruled that was illegal, so Pleasanton backed off.

Neal said there's no way to prove that a car with a For Sale sign in the window is actually parked there for that purpose. It could be the driver is there for a soccer game or to shop.

Several residents suggested issuing permits to homeowners and allowing only those with permits to park on the Santa Rita frontage road. But Neal pointed out that would make it illegal for drivers to stop in those areas, even momentarily, to drop off or pick up students at Amador Valley High School or Alisal Elementary School.

Several also questioned the four-hour parking zone regulation, saying it could affect the extra cars they own that don't fit in their driveways, or guests coming to visit.

Even so, the City Council voted to restrict parking on the frontage road to four hours at a time, seven days a week, but to take another look at the situation in six months. City staff was also asked to look at boosting the current price of parking tickets from $25 to as much as $100.

"It's got to hurt to make these car owners stop doing this," said Councilwoman Cindy McGovern.

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