SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — It seemed so unfair. They’d been using their carpad for decades – when suddenly the city said it’s illegal. Not only that, they were threatened with a $1,500 fine – a huge penalty even for San Francisco. The only way out? Go back into San Francisco history.

UPDATE: How an Army aerial photo expert helped SF couple park in driveway again after threat of $1.5K fine

Parking in San Francisco is a difficult part of life here. You find a spot… but get a ticket anyway.

For Judy and Ed Craine it seems especially unfair.

“We always use the carport,” said Judy.

RELATED: SF mom of 3 fears losing car to parking tickets as Mission Bay residents urge SFMTA to change rules

“Parked in that driveway every day and every night,” confirmed Ed.

They live on a steep hill where parking can be a gravity-defying challenge.

But they could slip into their driveway and park on their carpad, which they’d been doing every day for the past 36 years.

But not anymore.

“We got this email saying we can’t park in the pad anymore. I said what, that’s crazy,” recounted Ed.

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Out of the blue, the couple got a ticket for parking in their own driveway.

“It was very surprising, to say the least,” said Judy.

And worse? It came with an enormous fine: $1,542 dollars, plus another $250 per day if they didn’t get the car off their carpad.

“I wrote them back saying I thought this was a mistake,” Judy said.

But it was no mistake. And no ordinary parking ticket. It came from the city planning department, telling them it’s illegal to park in the front of a house.

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“And if we were found parking there again, it would be a $1,500 fine,” Judy said.

And so they quickly pulled the car out — but none of it made sense.

“Why are you taking away something that has great utility?” asked Ed.

Ed and Judy had been parking there for nearly four decades. And as far as they could tell, the space was used for parking since the house was built back in 1910 – one of the first in their Noe Valley neighborhood.

“To all of a sudden to be told you can’t use something that we could use for years. It’s, it’s startling. Inexplicable,” Ed said.

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And so the Planning Department gave them a challenge: prove that parking was a historic use on the lot, and they might get a waiver.

“We could be grandfathered in. If we show them a historical photo that showed a car… or a horse-drawn buggy in the carport,” said Judy.

Right away they dug up a photo of their daughter 34 years ago – a part of the car barely visible.

But officials said: not old enough.

“I did a number of online searches,” said Ed.

And so they combed through hundreds of historic photos.

Plenty showed the early days, when there were few streets or homes.

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“Our house and our neighbor’s house had empty fields all around,” Ed said.

But to find a photo of a car or horse in their particular driveway, back before the days of iPhone cameras?

Nearly impossible.

And then, bingo.

“To me, it’s pretty compelling that was a car,” Ed said.

An aerial photo from 1938 shows their exact home – and Ed is sure he can see a car – or horse-and-buggy — pulling into his driveway!

“So this little black blob looks like it’s pulling into our house,” Ed said.

It looks like just a blob from above. But Ed says it must be a car — like all the other blobs you can see along the road.

“I don’t know what else they would be,” he said. “To me, it’s pretty compelling that that was a car pulling in or out of the parking pad.”

They rushed the photo to the Planning Department – the proof they need!

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Right?

wrong

“They said they were too fuzzy,” Judy said.

The Planning Department said this was not clear evidence.

Officials tell 7 On Your Side the couple was violating a code section banning vehicles in a setback in front of a house, even if it isn’t blocking a sidewalk.

Though it’s OK to park in front of a garage, like many of their neighbors.

Planning Chief Dan Sider said it was enacted decades ago for aesthetic reasons, to “Ensure that front yards don’t turn into parking lots.”

Yet, it’s OK to park in front of a garage, like their neighbors,

“I don’t think our car looks any worse than all the cars stacked in front of garages,” Ed Craine said.

And why enforce the rule after all these decades?

Sider said someone made an anonymous complaint to the city. Two neighbors also got tagged for the same violation, parking in a front driveway.

In an email, Sider wrote:

“I recognize that the property owner is frustrated. I think I would feel the same way in their situation. But the Planning Code doesn’t allow for the City to grandfather illegal uses on account of their having flown below the radar for a length of times.”

And so their carport sits empty — the oil stain a testament to easier days — as they struggle to park on the hill.

“I had to use my head to keep the trunk open while getting out groceries,” Judy said.

“The onus is on us to prove we’re innocent… though I don’t feel guilty,” Judy said.

The city did close the case without charging any penalties after the couple got the car off the carpad and kept it off. And the city says they could build a covered carport or garage to park there – or maybe find that old photo.

Take a look at more stories and videos by Michael Finney and 7 On Your Side.

Have a question for Michael and the 7 On Your Side team? Fill out the form HERE!

7OYS’s consumer hotline is a free consumer mediation service for those in the San Francisco Bay Area. We assist individuals with consumer-related issues; we cannot assist on cases between businesses, or cases involving family law, criminal matters, landlord/tenant disputes, labor issues, or medical issues. Please review our FAQ here. As a part of our process in assisting you, it is necessary that we contact the company / agency you are writing about. If you do not wish us to contact them, please let us know right away, as it will affect our ability to work on your case. Due to the high volume of emails we receive, please allow 3-5 business days for a response.

Copyright © 2022 KGO-TV. All rights reserved.

The post San Francisco couple instantly will get $1,500 high-quality for parking of their driveway as they’ve for 4 many years appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

Viewers from all over the world responded to this San Francisco couple’s story. Many could not believe a city would threaten a huge penalty for parking in their own driveway. Many offered to help prove it was a historic use – and then – the proof they needed came from an amazing source.

“It just seems wrong.”

Judy and Ed Craine had been parking in the carpad of their San Francisco cottage for 36 years… when suddenly the Planning Department said it’s illegal.

RELATED: CA couple allowed to park in their driveway again after threatened with $1.5K fine from city

They had to remove the car or face a huge penalty: $1,542 plus $250 for every day they parked there.

“I said what, that’s crazy,” Ed said.

So they quickly pulled the car out – but it made no sense.

“Why are you taking away something that has great utility?” Ed asked. “To all of a sudden to be told you can’t use something that we could use for years. It’s, it’s startling.”

The city planning code makes it illegal to park in the setback of a home to prevent front yards from becoming unsightly parking lots.

However, if they could prove cars were parked there before the law was passed in 1978, they might get a waiver.

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“We could be grandfathered in. If we show them a historical photo that showed a car… or a horse-drawn buggy in the carport,” Judy said.

“I did a number of online searches, Ed said, “checked historical resources,.”

But finding a historic photo of their exact driveway seemed impossible. Until Ed found an aerial photo from 1938. Zooming in showed their exact house. Ed saw a black shape he figured must be a car, pulling into what he figured must be the driveway.
.

“Here’s our house…” Ed said. “This black blob looks like it’s pulling into our house… to me it’s very compelling that was a car.”

But city planners said the photo was too fuzzy – not clear evidence.

However, after ABC 7 aired the story, the couple was flooded with offers of help (as well as commentary about way-out San Francisco).

And then, a gift from the sky.

“I happened to be watching Channel Seven, Michael Finney, and I saw this couple who was in a really tough spot…” said David Rui. He manages the aerial photo collection at Pacific Aerial Surveys of Novato in Marin County, which has millions of photos from its flights across the Bay Area dating all the way back to 1928. Ruiz saw our story and knew he could help Ed and Judy.

“I just simply went through our flight database and found numerous flights and was able to pull out some photography,” he said.

Ruiz used mapping coordinates to locate their house among maps in the company database. He found two aerial photos of what appears to be a car in their driveway; the clearest was a photo from 1958.

Ruiz said the company flew over most of the Bay Area once every three years including this neighborhood. “The question is, is there a car in the driveway at the moment we fly over,” Ruiz said. Most people were at work with their cars when Pacific Aerial Services was flying overhead, reducing the chances of catching a car in the driveway .

He did find two of them — 1958 and 1955. .

“So April 23, 1958,” Ruiz said, pointing to an aerial photo taken with a film camera in a plane flying 6000 feet overhead. Ruiz said he’s able to enhance the photos with 3-D imagery and other tools. He’s trained to look for indicators it’s a real vehicle, such as shadows, context and dimension.

“And here’s the house in question, And right here is a nice car, parked right there.”

He pointed to an image that looked like it could be a 1950s automobile. it was a snapshot in time, a view that went back in time. The viewer is transported to that moment in that time. “It definitely looks like a nice big American sedan, doesn’t it?” Ruiz said.

“This is all film-based. We had a plane flying overhead, it’s flying at 6,000 feet, took this wonderful photo that you can enlarge,” he said.

It is crystal clear to Ruiz – as it just so happens Ruiz is an expert trained during his Army career to analyze aerial images – especially cars.

“As an imagery analyst from the Army, one of my specialties is identifying vehicles,” he said.

And so the black blob Ed Craine found? The planning department wouldn’t accept it. But Ruiz says that blob was, indeed, a car.

He showed 7 On Your Side a clearer copy of that photo.

“It verifies that this is a vehicle, that there’s height… so I told them that there’s no doubt in my mind as an expert that this is a vehicle and if they needed me to, to write a report or testify to that I could do that,” Ruiz said.

The Craines showed the city that 1958 photo.

And it did the trick.

The city said it is now a legal parking space — grandfathered in.

Ed and Judy, who didn’t want to go on camera, said: “We are delighted we are able to park in our driveway again.”

Thanks in large part to David Ruiz.

“I’m glad it helped them out. They seemed like wonderful people that were just in a tough spot,” he said.

Major help also came from a neighbor who rummaged through old boxes and found a 1972 photo showing a car in their driveway. Others in the neighborhood also got violation notices for parking in their driveways. All came from anonymous complaints. If that’s you, let 7 On Your Side know about it.

Take a look at more stories and videos by Michael Finney and 7 On Your Side.

Have a question for Michael and the 7 On Your Side team? Fill out the form HERE!
7OYS’s consumer hotline is a free consumer mediation service for those in the San Francisco Bay Area. We assist individuals with consumer-related issues; we cannot assist on cases between businesses, or cases involving family law, criminal matters, landlord/tenant disputes, labor issues, or medical issues. Please review our FAQ here. As a part of our process in assisting you, it is necessary that we contact the company / agency you are writing about. If you do not wish us to contact them, please let us know right away, as it will affect our ability to work on your case. Due to the high volume of emails we receive, please allow 3-5 business days for a response.

Copyright © 2022 KGO-TV. All rights reserved.

The post Parking violation: US Military aerial view skilled helped San Francisco, CA couple park in driveway once more after risk of $1.5K positive appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

Parking in San Francisco is a difficult part of life here. You find a spot… but get a ticket anyway.

For Judy and Ed Craine it seems especially unfair.

“We always use the carport,” said Judy.

SEE ALSO | FTC sues Walmart for allowing scammers to use money transfer services, take millions from consumers

“Parked in that driveway every day and every night,” confirmed Ed.

They live on a steep hill where parking can be a gravity-defying challenge.

But they could slip into their driveway and park on their carpad, which they’d been doing every day for the past 36 years.

But not anymore.

“We got this email saying we can’t park in the pad anymore. I said what, that’s crazy,” recounted Ed.

RELATED: Plainfield family almost loses $11K to thieves using ‘grandchild scam’

Out of the blue, the couple got a ticket for parking in their own driveway.

“It was very surprising, to say the least,” said Judy.

And worse? It came with an enormous fine: $1,542 dollars, plus another $250 per day if they didn’t get the car off their carpad.

“I wrote them back saying I thought this was a mistake,” Judy said.

But it was no mistake. And no ordinary parking ticket. It came from the city planning department, telling them it’s illegal to park in the front of a house.

SEE ALSO | Stranger who moved into Chicago home and refuses to leave says she was scammed

“And if we were found parking there again, it would be a $1,500 fine,” Judy said.

And so they quickly pulled the car out — but none of it made sense.

“Why are you taking away something that has great utility?” asked Ed.

Ed and Judy had been parking there for nearly four decades. And as far as they could tell, the space was used for parking since the house was built back in 1910 – one of the first in their Noe Valley neighborhood.

“To all of a sudden to be told you can’t use something that we could use for years. It’s, it’s startling. Inexplicable,” Ed said.

RELATED: What are NFTs: How to avoid NFT scams before you invest

And so the Planning Department gave them a challenge: prove that parking was a historic use on the lot, and they might get a waiver.

“We could be grandfathered in. If we show them a historical photo that showed a car… or a horse-drawn buggy in the carport,” said Judy.

Right away they dug up a photo of their daughter 34 years ago – a part of the car barely visible.

But officials said: not old enough.

“I did a number of online searches,” said Ed.

And so they combed through hundreds of historic photos.

Plenty showed the early days, when there were few streets or homes.

SEE ALSO | Ex-CPS principal admits defrauding district of hundreds of thousands of dollars

“Our house and our neighbor’s house had empty fields all around,” Ed said.

But to find a photo of a car or horse in their particular driveway, back before the days of iPhone cameras?

Nearly impossible.

And then, bingo.

“To me, it’s pretty compelling that was a car,” Ed said.

An aerial photo from 1938 shows their exact home – and Ed is sure he can see a car – or horse-and-buggy — pulling into his driveway!

“So this little black blob looks like it’s pulling into our house,” Ed said.

It looks like just a blob from above. But Ed says it must be a car — like all the other blobs you can see along the road.

“I don’t know what else they would be,” he said. “To me, it’s pretty compelling that that was a car pulling in or out of the parking pad.”

They rushed the photo to the Planning Department – the proof they need!

RELATED: Sextortion scams: FBI warns of schemes targeting teenage boys in effort to extort money

Right?

wrong

“They said they were too fuzzy,” Judy said.

The Planning Department said this was not clear evidence.

Officials tell 7 On Your Side the couple was violating a code section banning vehicles in a setback in front of a house, even if it isn’t blocking a sidewalk.

Though it’s OK to park in front of a garage, like many of their neighbors.

Planning Chief Dan Sider said it was enacted decades ago for aesthetic reasons, to “Ensure that front yards don’t turn into parking lots.”

Yet, it’s OK to park in front of a garage, like their neighbors,

“I don’t think our car looks any worse than all the cars stacked in front of garages,” Ed Craine said.

And why enforce the rule after all these decades?

Sider said someone made an anonymous complaint to the city. Two neighbors also got tagged for the same violation, parking in a front driveway.

In an email, Sider wrote:

“I recognize that the property owner is frustrated. I think I would feel the same way in their situation. But the Planning Code doesn’t allow for the City to grandfather illegal uses on account of their having flown below the radar for a length of times.”

And so their carport sits empty — the oil stain a testament to easier days — as they struggle to park on the hill.

“I had to use my head to keep the trunk open while getting out groceries,” Judy said.

“The onus is on us to prove we’re innocent… though I don’t feel guilty,” Judy said.

The city did close the case without charging any penalties after the couple got the car off the carpad and kept it off. And the city says they could build a covered carport or garage to park there – or maybe find that old photo.

Take a look at more stories and videos by Michael Finney and 7 On Your Side.

Have a question for Michael and the 7 On Your Side team? Fill out the form HERE!
7OYS’s consumer hotline is a free consumer mediation service for those in the San Francisco Bay Area. We assist individuals with consumer-related issues; we cannot assist on cases between businesses, or cases involving family law, criminal matters, landlord/tenant disputes, labor issues, or medical issues. Please review our FAQ here. As a part of our process in assisting you, it is necessary that we contact the company / agency you are writing about. If you do not wish us to contact them, please let us know right away, as it will affect our ability to work on your case. Due to the high volume of emails we receive, please allow 3-5 business days for a response.

Copyright © 2022 KGO-TV. All rights reserved.

The post San Francisco, California couple in Noe Valley all of a sudden will get $1.5K high quality for parking of their driveway as they’ve for 4 a long time appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.