Page 22 - Sonoma County Gazette Oct. 2019

Fire Lanes on Narrow Roads
By Vesta Copestakes
I live on a narrow road as do many
of us in rural Sonoma County. We are constantly dealing with people parking with half their vehicles into the street. Passing the parked vehicles is a challenge, but it does slow people down. No one wants to damage their vehicle!
DEAR READERS: Do you have a legal question on your mind? If so, please email me at debra@newbylawoffice.com. Your name will remain confidential. This Q & A Legal Column is intended as a community service to discuss general legal principles and does not create an attorney-client relationship.
Dear Debra:
I own a home in Guerneville, and the road to my home is quite “skinny”. My neighbor parks his car “off road” next to my property, which makes taking out my trash rather challenging. I asked him to move his car, but he said that since he filed for “non-operation” with DMV, he doesn’t want to move it. I called the CHP and was told that because it is “off road”, it is not their jurisdiction. Help! What can I do? Signed: Frustrated Frank
Dear Frank:
BUT - when a FIRE TRUCK
needs access, it’s no longer a
matter of annoyance or convenience...it’s an EMERGENCY.
Fire trucks average 10 feet wide - add their mirrors and they need a good 12’ to pass without running into something. Our laws require fire trucks to have 14 feet vertical clearance as well.
People think in terms of their cars, but fire engines are considerably larger. They need 20 to 30 feet to make a turn, so consider that when they are going down a winding road. We don’t have many straight roads in rural communities!
Folks hold on to things for sentimental reasons, so we do need to tread carefully, recognizing that indeed one person’s junk is another person’s treasure. I think we would all agree that a person can store and keep whatever they deem special to them on their own property, but there also has to be a balance when public safety is at risk.
Out on the Russian River we have additional issues with people visiting the River and parks where parking lots cannot handle as many people as arrive to enjoy their day. People park their cars in our neighborhoods. They open doors, pile floaters and picnic supplies into the street, then leave for the day.
My first thought is that if you can’t even maneuver to get your trash taken out, perhaps a fire truck will have some of the same difficulties getting up and down your road in case of fire. Plus, by their very nature, non-operational
cars (and even operational ones) pose a fire risk. In addition, they attract rodents. As a side bar, one of my friend’s neighbors told me she trapped 50 rats that were hovering around her driveway and her operational vehicle in the backroads. Rodents love, love, love motor vehicle wiring and hood insulation.
Sonoma County Pubic Works is helping us mark roads with fire lanes and they have told us it’s OK for us to mark the roads as well. We also have access to calling the CHP to ticket people and potentially tow their vehicles when they are blocking driveways and fire lanes.
Here are some diagrams to help you protect your neighborhoods and keep vehicles off the street and fire lanes clear. These illustrations come from Sonoma County ordinances on road clearance for emergency vehicles.
Below is a quick overview of what I learned from my research:
2016 FES Ch 13 Fire Code Ord_Final Ord_Drawings
To close the loop on my research, I also reached out to our County offices and spoke to Jackie Crawford, Code Enforcement Inspector assigned to the Abandoned Vehicle Abatement program for unincorporated areas of Sonoma County. Ms. Crawford informed me that the county has 10 inspectors and
one manager that oversees and enforces code violations for the County of Sonoma. This Program was the one that recently cleaned up all the flooded vehicles in the Monte Rio/Guerneville area (thank you Jackie and Team)! Ms. Crawford confirmed that sometimes there are some “gray areas” as to whether the property is under the County’s jurisdiction or the CHP’s jurisdiction, but she and her staff work closely with the CHP to best serve the public interest. You should give her a call directly at 707-565-3717 and give her the address
of your skinny road and where your neighbor’s inoperable car is parked. She can help you clarify whose jurisdiction it is, and work with CHP if it is their jurisdiction.
Sonoma County Fire and Emergency Services Department
Lastly, as a practical matter, I would approach the neighbor one last time and let him/her know that the status quo is not working—that he or she needs to find another place to store their car if they plan to keep it, as it is presenting
a safety and environmental hazard to your neighborhood. Great question, Frank....good luck to you!
2300 County Center DR., Santa Rosa, CA 95403
707-565-1152 - sonomacounty.ca.gov › fire-and-emergency-services https://sonomacounty.ca.gov › Public-Safety › Fire-Departments
Debra A. Newby has practiced law for 38 years. She is a member of the California, Texas and Sonoma County Bar Associations and currently maintains an active law office in Santa Rosa which emphasizes personal injury law (707-526-7200), or fax (526-7202).
22-www.sonomacountygazette.com -10/19
• Sonoma County operates a voluntary and free junk vehicle removal program that is available to residents in the unincorporated areas of SoCo. This state- funded program will tow, for free, cars, pickups, and vans (no RV’s or large trailers). Call 707-565-1992 or go online to www.sonomacounty.ca.gov/ Services/SoCo-Report-It. Obviously, the owner’s consent is needed.
• Sonoma County Ordinances do address abandoned, wrecked, dismantled or inoperative vehicles (see, for example, Article IV, Sec. 18-4 et. seq.) Generally, a vehicle is considered abandoned if it is parked, stored or left on public or private property in excess of seventy-two (72) or more consecutive hours. This Ordinance also gives the county zoning enforcement officer the authority to enter upon private or public property to declare the vehicle a nuisance and remove it (just keep in mind that there is a process that takes time and can take days to months).
• Yes, the DMV does allow a vehicle owner to apply for and receive a “non- operational” permit, but typically that vehicle needs to be stored under a permanent structure. I think we would all agree that your “skinny road” does not qualify as a permanent structure.