Okay.
You have assigned parking areas. You also have an area at one end that needs to be clear so people can walk through.
Figure out a way to put in parking fences. Not lines. Freaking fences.
Problem solved.
Uh - yeah, I’ll get right on that! 
Seriously, someone who does RE and/or condo law would likely be able to give you something off the top of their head.
I find it curious that folk purchase deeded parking spaces, yet the specific location/dimensions are not spelled out. What does it say - x has the easternmost 1/3, y has the middle 1/3, and z has the westernmost 1/3? Would be interesting to see what else the by-laws say re: how they can be used. I’d be surprised if they didn’t say things like vehicles must be in working order, no boats/RVs, etc. Would also expect mention of 1 vehicle only, and not blocking any common areas.
Just searched - concrete parking bumpers are available - and cheap. I’d suggest this is best handled by the association. It gets really sloppy when a group like this does some things formally, and others informally and ad hoc.
Another thing - really think carefully about whether this is one battle or the entire war. I know this parking is a PITA. But if you take it to the wall, what other headaches can this guy cause you and your other neighbors - even if just requiring to the letter application of all by-laws and procedures?
Like I said - good luck.
Paint the stripes on the driveway yourself.
From memory, the bylaws indicate the general location of each space. And there is some language in the bylaws about not obstructing common elements. When I get home and have access to my real computer and copy of the bylaws, I will quote him chapter and verse. And in the past 6 years that we have lived there, he has already created enough headaches that I am tired of being a doormat. I am pretty conflict-averse too, but I shouldn’t have to beg a guy who doesn’t even own a unit for permission to use my own damn staircase. It’s not just a convenience issue, it’s a safety issue.
But I like the concrete bumper idea. The 2nd floor guy was also parking far up enough that you had to go around all the cars to get to the back stairs from the side walkway, but he stopped after being asked nicely once.
Seems like you’ve made your bed on this one.
You keep saying that, but if his wife died tomorrow, he’d own it, right?
Possibly, but I have no idea.
I think you are distracting yourself by focusing on the husband. Whoever is doing it, the rights/restrictions run to the unit owner. I imagine all owners are allowed to have guests use the space.
What I’m saying is, you have to try to approach this dispassionately. Sure this guy is a jerk. Sure you have a history. But you are just interested in having everyone live up to the shared agreements/responsibilities/laws, and to maintain free and unencumbered and safe enjoyment of the common elements for everyone.
I’d imagine the identification of the common space allowing access to the stairs will be the basis for a resolution favorable to you. That definition will either be spelled out in your deeds/bylaws, per statute, or common-law. Hell, Chicago is so heavily regulated, I bet there is something specifically spelling out how much space must be clear around a shared stairway. Then you are going to have to decide what the board president can do to notify either this unit or all owners, whether a meeting needs to be noticed and held, and what enforcement can be taken.
Might also wish to assess how the other owners feel about this. If this comes down to a vote, they might not have your back. And they might be pissed if you have the board taking actions which cost money, or even taking some enforcement against a particular unit owner. Each other owner might think there is something THEY are doing that isn’t exactly kosher, and might fear you will be “going after” them next. Or, if you find THIS GUY’S parking isn’t consistent with code, what if you turn up a bunch of other things that end up being costly and inconvenient? Just saying, these things can get complicated and nasty quick.
Weren’t you saying you wished you had a hobby? :rolleyes:
My point is that this particular individual has been the source of the vast majority of discord within the association (at least since the bankruptcy and foreclosure of the guy above us). Everyone else is quite friendly and civilized. If someone else were blocking the stairs, I’d be annoyed at that person.
The most recent incident occurred when a friend of ours, who was parking with our permission because he is doing some painting in our place while we are out of town, accidentally parked in the wrong vacant spot (not Jerkface’s), and Jerkface left him a nasty note on his windshield. When I emailed Jerkface to tell him to please leave our friend alone, because he was parking with our permission, and by the way as long as we’re discussing appropriate use of the parking spaces, blocking the staircase isn’t one of them, that was when he replied that he would do whatever he damn well pleased, including parking sideways if he felt like it. That was kind of the last straw.
I will look at the bylaws, city code, etc. when I get home. Some friends were suggesting doing nasty things like icing over his car. I prefer to let the law do this for me.
Glad I read the thread first because I was going to suggest this.
If the spaces aren’t marked, can the condo association execute a plan for the area that carves out space to install bollards around the foot of the staircase?
My spouse and I both own property individually with Associations, and while we are warmly welcomed at each other’s meetings, it is clear we are guests, not members.
If someone, like, say, the Board President, were to get concerned about fire safety, adequacy of the smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, etc, that person could ask the local fire department to do an inspection. It would then become necessary to put into place all recommendations the inspector (normally a Fire Marshall, but in some places the Chief does them) made within the time allotted.
Inspectors have been known to check back at odd times and ticket or fine non-compliant elements. I seem to remember hearing somewhere that Chicago is REAL serious about fire safety reg.s.
:: Walks away, whistling, hands in pockets. ::
This comment and some other comments raise the question: Just who has any authority to do manage or enforce anything in your little condo association, and what is the authority that they have?
So your entire condo association is just you four (4) members? I think you mentioned that the other two owners are pissed at him too. If so, what stops the 4 of you from having a meeting in which the 3 other than Jerkface vote for sanctions, or penalties, or towing enforcement, or bollards, or anything else it takes? Can three of the four members levy fines on the fourth? Can three of the four of you fine him for chopping up the downspout, plus bill him for the repairs? Can three of the four of you agree to have the fourth one towed away every time he parks there?
Why does he even think he can unilaterally say who should pay for fixing the frozen water pipe? And who should pay for it anyway? If the “association” pays for repairs, that’s just the 4 owners there anyway, am I reading that right?
ETA: And why is this all coming up now, while you are out-of-state? Can’t it wait until you get back home where you can deal with it more close-up?
Do what drive-throughs do and put up posts so he has to be a certain distance away from the stairs. He’ll respect that more than lines.
My question (see post just above) is: Who there has the authority to do that? Authority to make decisions about maintenance of the common areas; authority to order something like bollards installed; authority to pay for it; authority to levy an assessment on all the owners to pay for it?
Total Bull.
The President can call a meeting. Depending on the issue, the majority of those present at the meeting can vote to take action. I don’t think we can fine him for the downspout, because we initially agreed to let him do it; we didn’t imagine he’d do such a shitty job of it. I think we’d have to pass more stringent parking regulations before we could enforce them.
This is coming up now because a friend of ours was doing some painting in our place while we are out of town, and we let him use our parking spot. He mistakenly used the 3rd spot (not the one belonging to the unit that Jerkface’s wife owns) and Jerkface left a nasty note on his windshield, which our friend’s wife (who is a friend and coworker of mine) emailed to me. I emailed Jerkface to tell him that our friend had our permission to be there, to leave him alone, and as long as we were talking about appropriate use of parking spaces, blocking the back door wasn’t one of them.
Oh and about the frozen pipes: apparently he doesn’t understand collective ownership. He is one of those guys who thhinks things that directly affect him should be paid for by everyone else, like the roof, but everything else is the individual responsibility of someone other than him. And yes, the association is made up of the 4 unit owners ( well, 5 actually; **Tom Scud **and I own our unit jointly.)
People like him are the reason I would have rather had a single- family house, but we didn’t want to be in a position where all our spare cash was being sucked up by house, and this is what we could comfortably afford that met our other parameters for neighborhood, public transportation access, space, etc.
A majority of those present at the meeting when the vote is taken, unless the expense is over $5k. Actually a percentage majority measured by percentage of ownership; the garden unit is smaller and has a slightly smaller percentage of ownership than the other 3 units. The 2nd floor owner is an absentee landlord and never shows up, so basically we would just need the garden unit folks to agree with us, which they generally do because they are reasonable people.
The main problem is that Jerkface’s wife is the treasurer. I have no idea whether she would simply refuse to cut a check for work that we voted for according to the bylaws, but that she didn’t agree with. Or what consequences would be if we just paid out of pocket and deducted the cost from future assessments. We have plenty in the reserves to cover a small item like that, so there should be no need for an additional assessment.
This. Blocking the fire exit from the building is a building code violation. Take pictures and send them to your local fire marshal