WWYD concerning commercial vehicle parked next door

[Kellydelly]

Just curious what you all would do, or not do if your new neighbors brought with them a 4 or 5 ton commercial vehicle that the homeowner uses for work. It is a deisel truck. It is large enough to have a lift on it. And unfortunately this person starts it up every morning before 7 am and it is right outside my bedroom window . Six days a week. I have to run three fans in my room to try and not be awoken to the engine running. Per township ordinance you are not allowed to park a commercial vehicle in a residential district. I am dreading spring and summer when we all sleep with the windows open. Any suggestions? I figured they were allowed to drive it home from work and park it at home, or he wouldn't have, but just looked up the ordinances and see they are not supposed to do it. We live in a subdivision that has an HOA but I think we are still governed by township regulations. It is a middle class resort type neighborhood with half year round residents and half seasonal residents.

 

[sam_gordon]

Just curious what you all would do, or not do if your new neighbors brought with them a 4 or 5 ton commercial vehicle that the homeowner uses for work. It is a deisel truck. It is large enough to have a lift on it. And unfortunately this person starts it up every morning before 7 am and it is right outside my bedroom window . Six days a week. I have to run three fans in my room to try and not be awoken to the engine running. Per township ordinance you are not allowed to park a commercial vehicle in a residential district. I am dreading spring and summer when we all sleep with the windows open. Any suggestions? I figured they were allowed to drive it home from work and park it at home, or he wouldn't have, but just looked up the ordinances and see they are not supposed to do it. We live in a subdivision that has an HOA but I think we are still governed by township regulations. It is a middle class resort type neighborhood with half year round residents and half seasonal residents.

Are you on good terms with your neighbors? You might be able to ask why he has his work truck and not a personal vehicle. Maybe it's just for a short time. I would definitely not ask him to not bring the truck home.

If you really, really, really want it gone, find out who to complain to in your township, and go through those steps. But, I think that could lead to bad blood between you and the neighbors and personally, that's not something I would want to jeopardize.

 

[Christine]

These situations are always tough. I don't know why people can't follow the rules of the township or HOA and then the person who it affects gets put in such an awkward positon.

The best advice is to always talk to your neighbor first. In my experience IRL and reading boards such as these, the offender rarely takes it well and the neighborly outreach is deemed a confrontation. The next stop would be to notify the HOA or township (or both) and alert them to the violation.

 

[cabanafrau]

If you have an HOA I can't believe it's gone on for any length of time.

 

[EMom]

They likely know the rules, but park there anyway. I'd turn it in, but that's me. If you ask them about it, and they decline to stop parking there, so you have to turn it in, they will know you're the one who turned it in. THAT is bad blood.

 

[TippyThomas]

Communication.

 

[disneychrista]

What do you want the neighbor to do with the truck?

 

[Kellydelly]

What do you want the neighbor to do with the truck?

Leave it at work or somewhere it is allowed.

 

[piccolopat]

I would refer it to the HOA. If that's not allowed by the HOA rules, there may be other rules they need to know about.

 

[cvjw]

We had a similar issue in my neighborhood. One neighbor owns a landscaping business and brings his box type truck home and parks in his driveway. Our HOA got involved, but it turns out his truck was one foot shorter than the regulations prohibit. So, he parks the truck in his driveway. Talking to him was no help.

 

[mjkacmom]

That would last one day here, no commercial trucks allowed overnight in driveways (and no overnight parking overnight). I’d contact code enforcement. My neighbor called on another neighbor for parking her pickup on her lawn.

 

[_19disnA]

I would refer it to the HOA. If that's not allowed by the HOA rules, there may be other rules they need to know about.

I agree and then you aren't the 'bad guy' who reported him. Let the HOA figure out how to deal with it and enforce the applicable rules. Some people purposely ignore the rules and hope to get away with it.

 

[sam_gordon]

Before you refer it to the HOA, find out what the HOA specifies.

 

[disneychrista]

Leave it at work or somewhere it is allowed.

And you are sure it isn’t allowed?

 

[Christine]

And you are sure it isn’t allowed?

OP looked it up and believes, at a minimum, it is against the township ordinances. HOA is another matter, but they are usually more strict than a township/county.

 

[Skippy918]

How long are they letting the truck idle for? Idling sounds like it would break more rules than parking of said vehicle.

 

[Hillbeans]

Most HOAs would not allow this. Ours has a designated parking area for commercial/work trucks. Is there a communal parking area near your houses?

 

[tvguy]

Wow, not sure there is going to be an easy solution.
We have a house across the street and one house down that is a rental. The last three tenants have all had white, 3/4 ton Dodge Diesel pickups. Mid-1990's models with stock exhaust. Not the quiet diesels like they make now. Even the big new utility crew 5 ton trucks are quiet compared to there. These are plain old personal use pickups*, not big commercial rigs*. But they all rattled my house when they started up and left and when they came home.

*Some would argue that these trucks are way way way more than their owners need for what they use them for, but to each his own. I can relate, I drove a 3/4 ton Suburban with a 454 V-8 when a 1/2 ton with a 305 V8 would have done everything I needed it to do.

 

[DisneYE]

We had a similar issue in my neighborhood. One neighbor owns a landscaping business and brings his box type truck home and parks in his driveway. Our HOA got involved, but it turns out his truck was one foot shorter than the regulations prohibit. So, he parks the truck in his driveway. Talking to him was no help.

Also had a similar situation. Our neighbor was a mechanic so he would bring a bunch of stuff to repair in his garage with a trailer full of junk.
I talked to him (for those advocating communication), he refused to move the stuff into his garage or put the trailer on the other side of his house. ("it's my property, I'm allowed to do it")
We reported to the county. County came. It was illegal. He was forced to remove it and was fuming. Life became a nightmare since. Cars revving, non-stop tools noise, loud music, more junk piled up on the side, etc.
We ended up moving. It was that bad. But we were planning on moving anyway, he just helped speed up the process.

One of my mantras in life is, after good health and a good family the next best thing you could have is a good neighbor. Everything else in life is easier if you have those 3.

I envy those who have good neighbors, it's like winning the lottery. You have good neighbors? Don't EVER move.

To the OP: I feel you. If you report to your county, your neighbor will likely know it was you. If you don't, you'll continue to suffer something that bothers you. It's a dilemma.

 

[Kellydelly]

How long are they letting the truck idle for? Idling sounds like it would break more rules than parking of said vehicle.

20 minutes because it's cold I'm guessing. Too long is all I know!

Most HOAs would not allow this. Ours has a designated parking area for commercial/work trucks. Is there a communal parking area near your houses?

No, I don't believe so.

This family moved in at the end of August so I have been bothered for six months now. Was just figuring it was allowed. Our HOA guidelines do not address this. They are not who I would ask to take care of this. These people are not friendly and rarely come outside. I'm not sure if I'm worried about upseting them or not. I mean, they really aren't supposed to be bringing that work truck home. I am really wondering what they did before because I'm pretty sure he has done this kind of work for a while (large farm equipment mechanic, I think). They also just got two pit bull chow puppies that like to bark. I'm kind of in new neighbor hell a little.