Invite him in for a drink, slip him a mickey, bury him in deep under his precious parking spot.
(do not attempt this if it runs counter to the laws where you live)
Yeah, a lot gets ignored in a city the size of Chicago. But when I heard of this, the first thing I thought of was that (relatively) recent event where a back porch collapsed. As I recall, there was a lot of discussion of the specific construction requirements of the type of porches/stairs I imagine Eva is talking about. (Pretty common for Chicago 2-4 story apartment/condo buildings.) In among all those regs, I’d imagine there would be something about the minimum space needed at ground level to provide access.
However, I would definitely caution against being too eager to call in some kind of inspector. The problem is, you may be unable to restrict the scope of the inspection. What if you called in an inspector, and he said the parking was fine, but you needed to replace all the stairs/decks to the tune of $10k per unit? Or any number of other possible building/fire/whatever code violations.
“Originally Posted by Eva Luna View Post
See above - the spots are assigned in the bylaws. Also, it’s fine for him to park in that spot, but not to park 2 cars in a spot that’s meant for one car. He literally parks so close to the stairs that he is touching the support beams. It blocks about 90% of the stair access. As soon as we hit business hours, I’m going to call the City and see what they can do because it’s a safety hazard to block a building exit.”
:smack: I said this in my post to call the fire department !
All good points.
But lest the whooshing go unnoticed let me say the “bull” comment was a historically related joke.
Good points, and I did think of those. The police actually suggested calling 311 (or the police) to have him ticketed. I don’t know that that would trigger a building inspection in itself. I think what I want to do once I’m at a real computer is figure out what statute, ordinance, and/or section of the condo nylaws he is violating, email him to inform him what those are, and inform him that no, actually, he doesn’t have the right to park wherever he wants, and if he doesn’t care to discuss it with me, he can discuss it with Chicago’s Finest.
I’m sorry. I hate it when Canadians are assholes. On his behalf, I’m sorry.
Hey, aren’t there some legal requirements that you have to change the car plates to the local state within a set amount of time?
Do you know anyone on the force that could “drop by”? Or spring for a batch of sugar pucks? 
30 days in IL. I have no idea whether they would bother tracing BC plates to their owner, though.
Please keep us updated. I’d like to see how this plays out.
The trouble with that is that the back staircase is very handy for things like moving in and out, having large appliances delivered, etc. It would be difficult to install bollards in such a way that those activities were still possible. (The building is on a narrow one-way street in a very dense neighborhood, so if you stop a vehicle in front, you are blocking the whole street, and you will almost never find more than a single car length of our block unoccupied.)
:: bump ::
Just came home to find his huge-ass SUV blocking the stairs again. I called 311, who told me that they would send a cop to ticket him, and that if it happens again I should call 911. Given that there have ben 3 people shot this week within 2 blocks of here, I don’t think it would be a good use of 911 resources, but it was nice to know that in fact someone is paying attention.
After further consideration, I’m not even going to bother telling him that I will report him if he keeps doing it. After all, what’s the point?
So, if calling 311 (the non-emergency police number?) is sufficient to get a cop out to write a ticket, why do you need to call 911 next time? Can’t you just continue to call 311 and get him ticketed each time it happens?
Heck if I know, but as of this morning it doesn’t seem like anyone actually ticketed him, so maybe I do actually need to call 911.
I know jerkwad’s wife is the treasurer, but who’s the President? Someone is–is it the absentee landlord?
My folks have been landlords/condo owners/ etc for decades now. And they have sworn they will never never buy another condo. But I’ve read the whole thread and I don’t get how you live in a small complex and you can’t do more. My folks were frustrated in a place that had over a hundred owners and you have four?
I’m not thread-shitting. i’m honestly confused. And you’re an owner?
Tom Scud, my husband, is. But the Treasurer still doesn’t get to do things by fiat. In theory, anyway, a condo association is a democracy.
My boss opined, when I told him that we were buying this place, that a bigger association would be better because there would be more other people to water down the assholes. I have no basis for comparison, but who knows? maybe he is right. But we wanted outdoor space and a neighborhoody feel, and within our price range in the area where we were looking, you don’t get that in larger buildings - it simply doesn’t exist.
Yes, we are owners. I’m thinking the next time we buy a place, it will not be a condo. It was what we could reasonably afford at the time that met our other constraints. Or maybe I need to learn to be an asshole.
Well, calling the cops to ticket the guy’s SUV is a great start! 
Now you need to keep after the police until they do it!
But wait – This troublesome parking spot is behind the building? Is that in a private parking lot that’s part of the property? A public street? A publicly-owned-and-maintained alleyway? If I’ve read your posts for comprehension successfully, I got the picture it’s on your condo’s private property. I don’t think any cops anywhere are going to ticket a car for wrongparking on private property, unless maybe the Fire Inspector says so. ETA: OTOH, check your local (or state) laws; you might have legal cover if you privately call a tow company and have him towed. Now that’s how you get to be an asshole!
It’s a private lot on the alley. So far half a dozen different city employees of various law enforcement/information agencies (311, the local police station, the Fire Department, the fire prevention office, and another one or two that I’m forgetting) have assured me that he can be ticketed for blocking the exit from the building. Now if they would actually just do something about it…
ETA: I checked our condo bylaws, and they clearly state that it’s a violation to obstruct the common elements (i.e. the staircase). The problem is getting the association to penalize him somehow, because there isn’t a specific penalty built in to the bylaws. It basically just says the unit owner must be given a chance to remedy the violation.
I know the owners of a multi-unit rental property could face serious fines, even jail time, for a fire code violation in my municipality (and I can’t believe the same isn’t true for Chicago) but I don’t know if the laws would apply to a condominium.
Have you presented information about fire codes, and penalties for violating them, at the association meetings? Ovbiously, your co-owners don’t care about safety, but they might care about exhorbitant fines.
Not yet, because I have to figure out what they are first (and then we have to call a meeting). None of the people I spoke with could quote me chapter and verse on that. I’ve been trying to catch the real estate lawyer in my office in a chatty mood, but he hasn’t been around much this week. He’s generally very helpful when he is, though.
Aha - I think I found out what he’s violating(besides our condo bylaws):
"15-4-880 Obstruction of exits.
No person shall at any time place an encumbrance of any kind whatsoever before or in any exitway or before or upon any fire escape, balcony or ladder intended as a means of escape from fire. It shall be the duty of every member of the police and fire departments, who shall discover any fire escapes encumbered in any manner, to report forthwith to the bureau of fire prevention and the said bureau shall immediately notify the owner and the tenant to remove such encumbrances.
It shall be unlawful for any person to place, store or keep, or permit to be placed, stored or kept under or at the bottom of any stairway, inside or outside, elevator or other shaft in any building, any combustible or flammable materials, fluids or compounds, nor shall any such combustible or flammable materials be placed or stored or kept in any place where ignition or burning would obstruct or render hazardous, egress from a building. No obstruction shall be permitted in hallways of tenement houses or apartment houses.
All full width of doors, aisles and passageways within and leading into or out of theaters, churches and all other places of public assemblage shall be kept free from easels, signs, standards, campstools, chairs, sofas, benches, and any other article which would obstruct the width of the exit or delay the exit of the audience, congregation or assemblage during the entire time during which any show, performance, service, exhibition, lecture, concert, ball or other assemblage may be held, and it shall be unlawful for any person to sit or stand or remain seated or standing, or to allow any other person so to remain in any such place of public assemblage in any aisle under any circumstances, or in any exit or passage required for the safe exit of the assemblage. Clear passage from all exits and on all sidewalks must at all times be maintained outside of all theaters and other places of public assemblage.
No aisle, passageway or stairway in any store shall be obstructed with tables, showcases, or other obstructions during hours said store is open to the public.
It shall be the duty of the superintendent of police to render assistance in the enforcement of the provisions of this section, and to direct and require police officers to enter all places of public assemblage for such purposes."
So now I need to figure out what the penalty is, who enforces the code, and whether this means in practical terms that I can get Mr. Jerkface fined. Any ideas?