Coming Home For The Holidays May Not Be An Option In Hendersonville (Op-Ed)

Submitted by concerned Hendersonville resident-

Residents of Hendersonville may want to rethink having loved ones home for Thanksgiving and Christmas. This year if residents of Hendersonville plan to have family and friends stay but have to park on a public street they may receive a present from the Hendersonville Police Department in the form of a ticket. Yes you read that right, a parking ticket.

The Stonecrest neighborhood has already been the target of these parking citations since 1:30am in the morning of November 19. On November 12, in the neighborhood of Stonecrest,  there was a complaint made by Mayor Clary that resulted in officers making 3 visits to a family just a few doors down. Now the whole neighborhood of Stonecrest is being visited nightly by the Hendersonville police. 

On Wednesday November 12 around 7:30pm Police Officer Stroube showed up to a home in the Stonecrest subdivision and he stated that he was responding to a compliant sent by Mayor Clary about an abandoned truck parked in front of the home. The family told the officer that the truck was newly purchased by their son who had not been able to get the tags because he had been busy with the medical appointments for enrollment in the military and working. The officer understood and asked that the family take care of the tags as soon as possible. 

The next day on Thursday November 13, another Officer by the name of  Terry Smith visited the home but the family was not home. The family spoke with Officer Smith later that night and he stated the reason for the visit was because the truck was parked the wrong way on the public street. The family was informed about an ordinance that states there is no parking on public streets between 1am and 5am but the Officer stated that if the car is parked the correct way then they don’t normally enforce the ordinance.  Then just 2 days later on Saturday November 15 an Officer Sklar came out because the truck was still parked the wrong way on the street.

The family told the officer that when they went to move the truck it broke down and that their son was working on it that afternoon. The officer understood the situation and said that as long as the car was moved daily by 7am and there should be no problem. The family made sure to park the truck the correct way and have it removed by 6:30am. Since Stonecrest is a pretty quiet neighborhood and not generally regularly visited by the Hendersonville, the family felt it strange that 3 officers had specifically visited them in 4 days. Therefore after the officer left the owner of the truck, the young man joining the military, decided to visit his neighbor Mayor Clary and respectfully ask why the Mayor  complained to the police instead of walking down the street and talking to the family. According to the young man, Mayor Clary denied ever complaining about the truck and closed the door on the young man.

According to a source, on Wednesday November 19 around 1:30am those officers closest to the Stonecrest neighborhood were directed to patrol the whole neighborhood of Stonecrest and in doing so they ticketed anyone in the neighborhood that was parked on the streets between 1am-5am. There were many tickets given out to unsuspecting residents along with a summons for court on December 16. The family with the truck received a ticket even though they were told the ordinance is not normally enforced. When a homeowner called and spoke with Police Chief Jones,  he confirmed that the reason for the tickets was due to the ordinance Title 15-601 that was put into effect in 1970 and states: “Notwithstanding anything else in this code to the contrary, no person shall park or leave a vehicle parked on any public street or alley within the fire limits between the hours of 1:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. or on any other public street or alley for more than seventy-two (72) consecutive hours without the prior approval of the Chief of Police.”

When asked for Chief Jones to clarify “fire limits” he stated that it means any area that is serviced by the fire department, so in essence every street in Hendersonville city limits. When asked if the officers of Hendersonville are ticketing everywhere in Hendersonville between the hours of 1am-5am, it was told to the homeowner that the police are too busy to go around ticketing everyone and only enforce it if there is a complaint. Chief Jones stated that because of the complaint that the officers will be back. As of November 25 the Hendersonville police have patrolled the Stonecrest neighborhood every night since November 19 between the hours of 1am-5am, and sometimes even shining lights in the homes and one night turning the emergency lights and sirens on around 3:30am while in the neighborhood. 

Many residents of Stonecrest are not only upset and angry but are confused and concerned. Many of the homeowners grew up in Hendersonville and many of them have lived in the Stonecrest neighborhood for over 15years and no one knew about this ordinance. Last year a Stonecrest homeowner was the subject of multiple complaints from someone who was staying with a neighbor. The homeowner stated that when they spoke with the police responding to the complaints the officer stated that parking on the street was no problem and to ignore the neighbor.  Due to the information given by the officer the homeowner had no fear of parking on the street but received a ticket in the recent patrols of the Stonecrest neighborhood.

Many residents of Stonecrest are very concerned about their friends and family coming in town for the holidays and are trying to figure out a solution. It seems that if this ordinance is going to be strictly enforced in Stonecrest then many residents may have to cancel out of town guests for holiday gatherings in order to prevent loved ones from getting a parking violation. 

A homeowner tagged Mayor Clary in a comment on a private facebook page asking if he knew what was up with what seems like the police targeting the neighborhood. Mayor Clary responded in a private message stating that he will not reveal who made the initial complaint and feels his policy of allowing people to remain anonymous has improved the city but recognizes that it has resulted in tickets and other actions towards residents.  How does the mayor determine what is a valid complaint and what is a malicious complaint? In this situation the mayor could have been neighborly and walked a few doors down and talked to his neighbor before calling the police. 

It is clear that this is not a public safety issue as the ordinance only applies to the hours of 1am-5am and the police only enforce when there is a complaint.  

Alderman Janna Garton was contacted on November 20, 21, and 24 about what is happening. As of November 25 Alderman Garton said that she would look into it more but confirmed that the ordinance is only enforced if a complaint is filed.

How is it that some ordinances can be enforced with a complaint but others are enforced at all times? How does the police department determine which complaint to check on and which to ignore? Are the complaints made by the Mayor a priority over other residents? Are anonymous complaint that are being made to the Mayor going through the same channels that other complaints have to go through?  How is it that residents who grew up here never even knew about this ordinance? Why do governing documents of numerous communities, built and approved by the city since 2005, allow for overnight parking on the street therefore going against the city ordinance? Would a developer knowingly create governing documents for a community that would go against a city ordinance? 

There are so many questions to be answered. The main question right now for residents of Hendersonville, especially in Stonecrest, is do they cancel their Thanksgiving and Christmas plans if their driveway is not big enough for everyone to park. It seems some households may have to miss sharing turkey with their families because some people want to be turkeys and complain.