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You've never seen the car that's parked in your condominium parking stall when you come home from work, so your first reaction is to have it towed away. "The nerve of him to park in my space! Arrogant S.O.B.!", you think to yourself. Yet in most cases it's not an S.O.B. at all, but your next-door neighbour's visiting mother who was confused about where she was supposed to park, or some similar innocent misunderstanding that left that vehicle in your spot. Tagging and towing should be only last-resort actions, because there are better solutions.
Talking about parking issues comes first. Talking includes condominium in-house newsletters stressing the importance of parking only where permitted. It includes notes on windshields or warning tickets issued by the condo corporation. It also includes large and clear numbering of stalls and posted warnings that mis-parked vehicles can be ticketed and towed at the owner's expense. In this example, talking includes knocking on doors to learn who parked there in error and having the vehicle moved by its owner, who is often enough embarrassed and apologetic for his or her mistake.
For those who abuse parking, of course, parking tickets can be issued, and cars can even be towed away from condominium parking lots. If the stall is your own titled private property (a condominium "unit"), the Calgary Parking Authority will ticket the vehicle or tow it away. This is made easier if your building's parking stalls are numbered with their legal unit numbers. Buildings in which stalls have a secondary numbering system should consider painting those over and using the legal unit numbers for clarity of ownership. The stall's certificate of title acts as your proof of ownership.
In cases where the indoor or outdoor parking is common-property stalls assigned to owners by the condo corporation, the Board has authority to have vehicles "tagged" or towed away. This could be done by your property manager or condo Board Chair, but that person should have a clear statement of authority such as a Board resolution printed on letterhead paper. Condo common property, of course, is private property, in that it's owned by the corporation which through its Board has authority to manage it and to control parking on it.
A control option for surface parking lots is the installation of fencing and a remote-controlled powered gate, giving everyone a degree of security for their vehicles, but also keeping visitors from driving into the parking lot. Spending $15,000 or $20,000 on such an upgrade to surface parking can be a good investment for owners who later need to sell their suites. If you can't offer indoor parking, at least offer secured parking with a button-click swing-gate entrance.
I see few parking conflicts in buildings and townhouse developments that have clearly-marked stalls, clear warnings that mis-parked vehicles will be ticketed and/or towed, and newsletter reminders to owners that visitors should be clearly guided about where to park. Talk to your Board and your neighbours to avoid the ticketing and towing that's rarely necessary.
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