P.W. from outside of Connecticut writes:
Dear Mister Condo,
The declaration states and the plat shows that the driveways are limited common elements. There is a driveway pad outside the garage. The condo association states that the bylaws say that there is no parking on any street or common element so they don’t want anyone to ever park in their driveway.
The deed says that there are no restrictions and the limited common elements are listed in the declaration. But it also has a comment that the bylaws are to be followed. I’m confused, please clarify.
Mister Condo replies:
P.W., and this is why we have community association attorneys and courts to interpret poorly worded declarations. The concept of a limited common element means that the area is reserved for your use. That certainly makes sense for a driveway as you need exclusive use to come and go to your garage. If the bylaws state that there is no parking allowed on any common element, the Board needs to decide if that includes limited common elements as well. It sounds like they have made a determination that the parking ban extends to limited common elements, too. They may be correct but that doesn’t mean they can’t be challenged. You should speak with a qualified attorney in your area to determine if it is worth challenging the Board’s assertion that cars cannot be parked on limited common elements. Also, you should speak with the Board and fellow unit owners about the restriction. You could certainly modify the by-laws to keep the no parking ban in effect but not include limited common elements. All the best!
I would also check with the local building department to determine whether the site plan approval counter driveways in determining the number of parking spaces required. Most older condominiums are having a shortage of parking spaces and it may be that the driveways were counted as parking spaces in the original calculation.