A Florida man, Bali Ramnarace, was fined $345 for parking a work truck at his home
A Florida paramedic has been fined $345 by his city and faces additional charges each month for parking his work truck in his driveway — which officials say is in violation of city code.
Bali Ramnarace has been ordered to remove his 10-foot commercial box truck from his Boynton Beach property, a request he says will make his life more difficult because of his physical limitations.
“It’s ridiculous what they do to people. People make a living from this,” Ramnarace told WPTV.
A single father, who is at the center of a lawsuit with the city of Palm Beach County, asked to be “grandfathered in” because he has been parking in his driveway for 45 years, and it helps him every day.
“I think they should consider, because I am disabled and this is much easier when I am here in my house,” said Ramnarace. “That’s how I make a living, otherwise I have nothing to do.”
City of Boynton Beach officials have argued that Ramnarace’s truck violates the city’s bylaw, which is intended to regulate traffic in residential areas.
The code, Chapter 14 Section 14-3, aims to protect “property values and property types within residential areas” by removing large vehicles, including trucks, tractors, heavy equipment and buses from parking in certain areas for more than 15 minutes.
Ramnarace said his car meets all the specifications except that it is labeled as a “truck.”
“I always do what they say, a 10-meter box truck, one axle, weighing no more than 16,000 kilograms, this is only 5,900,” he told the outlet.
Along with the $345 fine, Ramnarace will be fined an additional $75 for each month he continues to violate the policy.
The assistant, who uses a truck to carry his work’s goods, has never established a backup parking system when he gives in to city pressure.
“I don’t know what to do, they didn’t say where we can park it,” he added.
In February, the city revised its code to “Prohibit standing, standing, parking, or storage in certain areas.”
The revised ordinance implemented stricter parking restrictions in both commercial and residential areas, including parking vehicles in a yard, swale or street, and parking only on driveways unless there is a temporary, authorized event, including “open houses” and short, personal gatherings, according to the city.
Residents resented the February approval, as part of a crackdown on homeowners who don’t live in the homeowners association.
“We really can’t park our cars anywhere except in our yards, and if you don’t have a yard, you’re screwed,” Cristina Super previously told WPTV. “We don’t live in an HOA and they force their rule on us.”
Bonafair, the city’s director of public safety, dismissed claims that it was a money-making scheme, calling it “a matter of public safety.”
