Prince William residents now have greater power to ban boats, trailers and recreational vehicles from parking on neighborhood streets after a vote Tuesday by the Board of County Supervisors.
Supervisors said neighborhood streets are increasingly becoming used as asphalt attics to store vehicles that create safety hazards and aesthetic headaches.
On Tuesday, the board unanimously approved parking bans on Hillendale Drive, Redwing Drive and Glendale Road and passed a measure that would allow homeowners associations to apply for the bans.
"On Maryland Avenue, I counted 11 trailers and boats, even a large pontoon boat," said Supervisor Hilda M. Barg, (D-Woodbridge). "We need to look at this countywide."
Supervisor Ruth T. Griggs, (R-Occoquon), said there are several streets in her district that are "enormous boat parking lots" where out-of-area owners stash their crafts because they are not allowed to park them by their own homes.
Some residents told the board that the boats and RVs are traffic hazards, making it difficult to pull out of driveways or see pedestrians or playing children. They say it also makes neighborhoods look shabby and may have an effect on property values.
"I'm not anti-boat, but I want my property values protected," said Jenny Featherstone of Old Bridge Estates. She said there had been a boat and trailer parked on Dover Pond Road for more than a year with a flat tire and a partially uncovered tarp that allowed a pool of stagnant water to collect. "It was looking pretty bad, especially surrounded by houses that are more than $300,000."
Others said the ban will make it difficult to prepare for vacations, do routine maintenance and keep an eye on expensive boats.
"I moved into the Harbors of Newport, not the Deserts of Newport," said Lou Ponterio, referring to the name of his housing development. "If I couldn't park my boat on the street I wouldn't have bought there."
Allowing homeowners associations to lobby for the parking bans could greatly increase the spread of the new restrictions.
"This could just be the beginning," said Assistant County Attorney Angela Lemmon Horan. She said she expects petitions to come in shortly.
The new language would allow property-owner organizations to bind their residents in lieu of petition signatures only if certain requirements are met, Horan said. First, the homeowners organization must be duly elected and hold its own public hearing on the proposal. Residents would also have a second chance to comment on the proposed ban at a public hearing held by the Board of County Supervisors.
In October, supervisors took steps to ban residents from parking numerous cars on their properties. County officials say the population has bulged to the point where residents are running out of room to park their vehicles. So they're turning to their front lawns and residential streets, a practice officials are anxious to stem.
The situation in Prince William mirrors that in Fairfax County, which became the first major area jurisdiction to ban cars from front lawns and to prohibit residents from paving over their lawns as driveways. Fairfax took action this summer.
In Fairfax the issue largely pitted new immigrants, who see the restriction as an infringement on their way of life, against established residents who find the practice distasteful. In Prince William, supervisors said the problem crosses all demographic lines. Many older homes were built without driveways or garages; many rural residents collect cars as a hobby; and extended families living in one home have nowhere else to park.
