Dear Randy: Parking on the Lawn

You can call up , send emails all over, and reach out in many directions in looking for an answer to a local problem or help with an issue- or we can get that question right to , and he can use his resources and local government know-how to get the best answer around.

Send your questions or comments on any topic, preferably a local issue, to steven.bartholow@patch.com, or leave it as a comment below, and we'll pass it onto Mayor Voepel. He's agreed to shoot for answering one a week, so let's get those questions coming!

Q: Other than going in front of the , is there another way to suggest a change in the cities laws in the way residents can park their travel or motorcycle trailers?  

When I turned in three of my neighbors for parking their trailers on their grass in their front yard code compliance told them just to put gravel around them to make it look like a parking area.  

I have been really trying to clean the neighborhood up to look presentable and it still looks trashy with the trailers parked in the front yard. Take a drive down Todos Santos Drive and see what I mean.

A: Many of the homes that were built in Santee before we became a City were built on relatively small 6,000 square foot lots.The drive ways of these lots are small and limited. As Santee has prospered, many of the homeowners have bought RV's, boats, trailers, etc. Because of the limited driveway parking and the 72 hour street parking limit (72 hours discourages long term parking on the streets) the City Council does allow either gravel or concrete auxiliary driveways if there is room in the front yards.

I myself have a gravel drive way next to my regular driveway and park my trailer on it legally. I agree with you that some of the items parked in front yards make Santee look like "hickville", but in a sense many of our older neighborhoods are 'hickvilles.'

In my neighborhood the rich folk live up the hill (very nice houses on 1/2 acre) and the poorer folks live down the hill (6,000 sq. Ft. lots, 40 year old+ houses). The rich folk up the hill constantly complain to me about the poor folk (uncut lawns, RV parking, barking dogs, and yes chickens) and demand that I come in with City Authority and clean up the messes.

Well, I have a problem with that... one persons mess is another persons lifestyle/exercise of personal freedom, etc. If code is being violated and we have a complaint, the City will enforce the code. We do not, however, in general practice "police" or patrol for code violations, we go on a case by case basis.

I hope this answer, while not helping you directly, at least explains why Santee allows frontyard parking.

Respectfully,

Randy Voepel

Mayor, City of Santee

PS; I live down the hill with the poorer folks.