DETROIT – Neighbors near Vernor and Junction in Southwest Detroit say they are being unfairly targeted with blight tickets, despite efforts to comply with city ordinances.
Many neighbors there, who live in homes without driveways, have seen a spike in fines for parking violations since the summer.
“Some [tickets] are for $100,” said William Sancen, a resident whose family has been issued over $1,000 in tickets, adding that others have been for “$125… plus court fees.”
The fines have been issued for parking on the street, which residents say is the most convenient option, and for parking vehicles in backyards, which they turned to after receiving tickets for street parking.
A neighborhood spokesperson, Ed Gies, explained that the violations often cite “unlawful parking on lawns or unpaved areas,” with at least half a dozen families in the area hit with two to four tickets each.
“They only had 10 days to pay the fine or remove the problem,” Gies said. “If they didn’t do it within the 10 days, the city would remove the vehicles and charge them whatever the cost was.”
For many residents, compliance has come at a significant cost. Some have sold or junked vehicles they were repairing, while others have struggled to pay the fines.
“They’ll pay, they’ll sell the cars — they’ll just do whatever. And it’s really tragic,” said Gies.
Residents also allege that the enforcement has been inconsistent.
Businesses in the area, they claim, have not been ticketed, and no warnings or signage were provided before tickets began appearing.
Sancen said his cars needed to be in working condition and parked on pavement.
“The tow truck driver was like, ‘They all work.’ I was like, ‘Yup, but we gotta get rid of them,’” Sancen said, adding that the cars were on pavement. Despite this, his family had to sell or dispose of them.
The Detroit Police Department tells Local 4 that its approach to blight enforcement covers the entire city with the primary goal that every part of the city is brought into compliance with established laws and ordinances.
The department wants the community to know that a violation notice is not a ticket and that no payment is required at the time of the notice.
Residents are given time to correct the violation before further enforcement action is taken or there is a court date.
When an abandoned illegally parked/stored vehicle is observed on a city street, it is stickered with a violation notice indicating that it is illegally parked and will be towed if it is not moved within 48 hours.
If the owner of the vehicle fails to comply with the order within the timeframe, the vehicle will be towed and a ticket may be issued.
The Detroit Police Department encourages any resident with a question about a violation notice to contact the city’s Department of Appeals & Hearings at 313-224-0098 or the Detroit Police Department’s Code Enforcement Unit at 313-596-5544.
