Dear Editor, On Monday evening, Aug. 30, I brought my 32-foot
trailer home and parked it in front of my house. While I was
loading it up on Tuesday morning for a trip to Thousand Trails, the
lens fell out of my glasses. I unhooked my pickup and drove to the
optometrist and stopped by the grocery store
– I was gone about two hours.
Dear Editor,
On Monday evening, Aug. 30, I brought my 32-foot trailer home and parked it in front of my house. While I was loading it up on Tuesday morning for a trip to Thousand Trails, the lens fell out of my glasses. I unhooked my pickup and drove to the optometrist and stopped by the grocery store – I was gone about two hours.
When I came home I found a ticket on the trailer from the Morgan Hill Police Department. I called the police department and was told an unhooked trailer can’t be left in front of a house in a residential section at any time. If hooked to a vehicle, I was told, it’s okay to leave it there for up to 10 hours.
In March I had called the department and asked how long I could park the trailer in front of my house for loading and unloading. I was told 72 hours maximum. After I got the ticket in August, I stopped a Morgan Hill police officer and asked him what the time limit was. He also said “up to 72 hours.”
So, I went to the Police Station and talked to Officer Frank McLaughlin, who wrote the ticket, and the duty officer, Sgt. Mindy Zen and was given the city ordinance covering unattached trailer and semitrailer parking. I also was given the ordinance covering parking oversize vehicles, which mine was since it was over 7-feet tall or 20-feet long (combination of truck and trailer).
I also asked to talk to the chief but was told he couldn’t talk to me then.
What I really want is for the police to know the right ordinances. I was blindsided twice by the police – then I was given a $32 ticket for doing something I was given to believe was perfectly legal.
I’d like my money back.
Ervin Heinrich, Morgan Hill
EDITOR’S NOTE: MHPD Lt. Terrie Booten confirms that Heinrich was given the 72-hour information at the station and by an officer but says he only asked how long he could park in front of his house – it is 72 hours for a car. He did not mention an unattached trailer.
