[ARGH]

Recently my father who is retired and spends most his time restoring antique cars was visited by a person from the zoning board who threatened him with fines for being in violation of the New York State Property Maintenance Code, 302.8 which states:
"Except as otherwise provided for in statute or other regulations, two or more inoperative or unlicensed motor vehicles shall not be parked, kept or stored on any premises, and no vehicle shall at anytime be in a state of major disassembly, disprepair, or in the process of being stripped or dismantled."
This can be found here: http://www2.iccsafe.org/states/new_y...hapter%203.pdf
I am looking for any information regarding laws like this and how the antique car hobby community is handling laws that prevent people from automotive restoration on private property.
Any help, information, references or links would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
-E

[JFranklin]

I think your issue is a matter of zoning and you may start with asking for a change of zoning or variance.

[ARGH]

How is a car hobbyist supposed to do any work on a vehicle if the zoning law prohibits it?

[rocketraider]

This is why you have to stay aware of what local governments are doing and not be afraid to attend and speak out at a zoning board or county commissioner meeting.

Zoning boards and HOA's are a bane and blight on the landscape. They generally create more problems than they solve.

I finally had to let the lawyer handle the zoning fiasco this county created when I built my garage. Based on its 36x50 size and proximity to Virginia International Raceway, those zoning fools were convinced, nay adamant, that I was going to open and operate a commercial race shop which would require a rezoning to Commercial from its current Agricultural. OK, it's built as a pole barn agricultural structure per the property's A-2 small farm agricultural use zoning, it has no permanent water supply or bathroom, no provision for installing a lift. "But you MIGHT install all that in the future"

Yes, and I MIGHT cancel the whole thing, sell out the property and the old cars, and you not get a dime of building permit or tax money, which is what all this is about anyway- jacking up the tax value on the property.

The lawyer earned his money, but he got things straightened out.

[Bluesky636]

Originally Posted By: ARGH

How is a car hobbyist supposed to do any work on a vehicle if the zoning law prohibits it?

You might want to go to your local zoning office and look up the actual code. The link you have posted says "Copywrite 2005, 2nd Draft." This makes me suspect that what you are looking at may not be the current code. I would beware of companies that make you buy copies of codes and laws. There is no guarantee that they are current.

[ARGH]

Even though the link doesn't appear current, I know the law is. I think they are just a little slow making the codes and laws available on the internet.
If a person from the zoning board came by and said it was a violation, I'm willing to bet it is.

[abh3usn]

So, the guy from the zoning board was trespassing? Invoke legal assistance and make the HOA go away. You can also join the HOA board and destroy it from within. Our neighborhood put a petition together to dissolve the POA. We were only a few signatures short. We will keep trying. In my opinion, POA/HOA are communistic in nature as their main purpose is to take away our personal liberties. They infringe upon our "rights to life liberty and pursuit of happiness". I fight my POA every chance I get. I once got a letter in December telling me I had to finish painting my house. Sure, I'll finish painting when it's 20 below out no problem.

[Kestas]

Somewhat related, we just had a car impounded from our street. It's a winter car that we store and use seasonally. Since it's hard to store all five cars on my property, it was on the street with dummy plates four four seasons.

What frosts me is that the city became rather ambitious and went beyond the spirit of the law (removing blight from the city) and started citing the letter of the law. I'm glad they didn't walk the drive behind the house where there's another car in storage (no plates).

With all the plant shutdowns in Livonia, the city is in dire straits to raise money for their operations. Beefing up enforcement is one venue. Of course, this discussion can easily lead us to the dangers government getting too big and in danger infringing on our liberties, but I don't know if politics is allowed on this board.

[JohnD1956]

Doesn't look like there is much you can do. Our Legislature has apparently voted for this overall Law, and in the case of local ordinances which are looser, this law superceeds. I found a better site on the web regarding this law and have put a link below. Meanwhile here is their official definition of an inoperable automobile:

INOPERABLE MOTOR VEHICLE. A vehicle which cannot be driven upon the public streets for reasons including but not limited to being unlicensed, wrecked, abandoned, in a state of disrepair, or incapable of being moved under its own power.

How sad that it has come to this. The next step is to fight this and have it turned over, but be honest, how many people are going to be willing to do that when so many other people keep trashy yards to begin with, impacting their real estate values?

Perhaps in your dad's case he might argue some sort of grandfather clause? But you probably need a lawyer for that argument.

STATE INFORMATION

[petednumber1]

I've been hit with this before. Our Zoning Officer said that if the car is inside they
don't care.