Woman slapped with 'unbelievable' fine for parking on the lawn outside her home
A woman has copped a fine that has been labelled “ridiculous” after parking her car on the lawn outside her home.
The woman from Orange, in NSW’s Central West, posted a picture of the $263 fine to Facebook, saying council told her the lawn in Racecourse Road didn’t actually belong to her.
“$263 fine for parking on our own lawn out the front of our own house!!!” she wrote.
“Apparently it’s not our lawn ... it belongs to council! Perhaps we should send them a bill for mowing it for the last 15 years.”
The woman calculated she had spent $10 a month on mowing and the council would owe her $1800.
The woman’s post was met with fury from other Orange residents, with one saying, “the world has gone mad”.
“Load of rubbish,” one man said.
“That’s bloody ridiculous,” another claimed.
“Unbelievable,” a comment added.
Some suggested the woman should not pay the fine while others said technically a homeowner’s private property ends at the letterbox so any car on a nature strip is on council-owned land.
“Tell them a warning should have been issued,” one suggested.
Council stands behind the law
Orange City Council Corporate and Community Relations Manager Nick Redmond told Yahoo News the parking team had been responding to an increased number of complaints from community members about cars parked illegally on footpaths and nature strips outside homes.
“Residents and businesses have told council they are concerned about the added safety risk if they have to walk onto the roadway to get around a parked car,” he said.
“In some industrial areas, staff have sent letters to the neighbourhood, encouraging people not to park on community-owned land.”
Mr Redmond said while council appreciated residents taking the trouble to mow grassed areas in front of their homes, the law about parking on these areas was clear.
“Even if there is no front fence, it’s expected landholders would have a good idea where their property ends and where the public area outside their property begins,” he said.
Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.
You can also follow us on Facebook, download the Yahoo News app from iTunes or Google Play and stay up to date with the latest news with Yahoo’s daily newsletter. Sign up here.
