I looked out my window to find my car and truck were both gone last night! I can't believe they did this without warning me. When I called the police they told me that the HOA did it. We have had major snow and it's piled all over... I live at the end of the road and my vehicles were not in anyones way... they have my driveway 1/2 blocked with their "snowpile tow away area" ... and the snow so high the sign is even out of sight. They haven't needed to plow in 3-4 days! This is one of many "petty stabs" I have received from the HOA here. I am easy to get along with and my son and I stay to ourselves. Do I have "a leg to stand on" so to speak? I'm so broke .. this hurts! barbb

Was your car in a tow away zone?

At least around here in Illinois, plows have the right of way, like an ambulance, even against regular traffic laws. Also there's lots of rules about towing during snow season. Best to always leave car in a private drive. Good luck

My problem sounds similar to the original poster, so I'll put it here as well.

I own a condo in the mountains of CO and live there full-time. We have received A LOT of snow this winter and snow removal has been an issue. Until the end of January, the building manager had been putting up signs as well as calling people when the lot needed to be cleared. I would move my vehicle, but not everyone would and the parking lot has suffered as a result. As of Feb 1, the manager was fired and more big storms came in. The new property managers put up a sign sometime on Feb 6, which I never saw. Other residents told me that cars were towed at around 10 am on Feb 7. In other words, less than 24hours notice. The managers also have the following info on file: my cell phone #, my email, my regular mail. They made no effort to contact me other than the sign on the main entrance.

Here's my rules and regs for parking:
PARKING
1) All authorized vehicles must be property permitted by Association management prior to parking in the parking area. Permits must be appropriately displayed for easy viewing. Usual display of the permit is attachment to the inside rear view mirror. Vehicles not displaying a parking permit will be towed at owner’s expense.
2) No commercial vehicles and no trucks shall be parked on any road within the Project except when temporarily engaged in transport to or from a condominium unit. For the purpose of this Rule 9, a 3/4 –ton or smaller vehicle, commonly known as a pickup truck, shall not be deemed to be a commercial vehicle or truck. The exception to this rule is an emergency vehicle meeting the following criteria:

a. Any unit owner required by his or her employer to have an emergency vehicle at his or her residence during designated times AND
b. The vehicle weighs ten thousand pounds or less;
c. The unit owner is a member of a volunteer fire department or an emergency service provider*;
d. The vehicle has an official emblem or other visible markings of an emergency service provider; and
e. Parking the vehicle will not obstruct emergency access or interfere with the reasonable needs of the other residents to use the community’s drives and parking.

3) All vehicles must be moved a minimum of once every seven days, or more frequently, as requested by the Association manager for snow removal or parking lot maintenance purposes.



So, where do I go from here? The tow truck company charged plenty- impound fees and all that, so it was $225. I hadn't moved my car in a few days, maybe even 7, but it certainly wasn't abandoned and I had been clearing it of snow every day. Roughly 10 cars were towed that day (roughly 20% of the vehicles that are parked there most of the time), but I don't really want to join forces with them because some of those cars were virtually abandoned anyway.

Thanks for the help.