APRIL FOOL: You can pick a truck, but you can't park it

Lakewood Ranch proper communities are ready to draw a line in the sand, or in The Box.

Florida law states that homeowners associations “may not prohibit” property owners, tenants or guests from parking their work vehicles or personal vehicles, including pickup trucks, on the owner’s driveway or any other area where the owner has “a right to park as governed by state, county, and municipal regulations.”

Even so, some Lakewood Ranch HOAs continue to fine residents who park their work vehicles and pickup trucks in their driveways. Several of the community HOAs, such as CCEVA, have regulations against parking such vehicles in driveways overnight. Those regulations, in most case, were put on the books when the communities were formed.

Florida House Bill 1203 aimed to change all that. But if you are a pickup-truck man, or woman, you most likely will continue to receive fines in Lakewood Ranch proper. HOA officials are banding together because they feel the federal government is taking rights away from local government. The foggy nature of the law leaves open to debate what "as governed by state, county, and municipal regulations" means.

Former Manatee County Commissioner Ray Turner noted in June of 2024 that when the HOAs were formed at the beginning of those Lakewood Ranch proper communities, pick-up trucks weren't quite the luxury vehicles they are today. He suggested HOAs give a little to allow those non-work trucks to be treated like any family vehicle.

With several residents outraged because they continue to receive fines, and who say they are considering lawsuits, the HOAs have decided to "give a little."

Enter the Lakewood Ranch "Pick-up Box" that now will be positioned in five of the original neighborhoods.

The Box will have the same dimensions in each of the communities utilizing it. A homeowner who wants to park a pick-up truck in his/her driveway will schedule an appointment with the HOA, then drive his or her vehicle to the site — for example, the back of the Country Club parking lot — and drive up a ramp into The Box.

The Box will be about the width, height, and length of a standard Ford F-150 or Chevy Silverado pick-up, or about 235 inches long, 78 inches high, and 82 inches wide. Those entering The Box will have the right to collapse their side view mirrors.

If the truck goes into the box without touching sides or the roof, then the owner will receive a permit, allowing that vehicle to be parked in the driveway.

If it touches, then no go.

"We hear the owners who say their truck really is for general transportation," said Noah Comprendo, a HOA board member. "This is not us against decent-looking trucks. This is us against ugly trucks, and construction vehicles. This is us saying you can't paint your home purple or you can't keep your garage-sale items piled up in the driveway with a tarp over them. If the Beverly Hillbillies move into the neighborhood, they need to follow rules. Who wants to live next to the flea market?"

Board member Roman Kandell said truck owners could have lived somewhere else if they didn't like the rule.

"Some of those trucks are beautiful and they certainly don't bring down the aesthetic quality of the neighborhood," he said. "But others look like me wearing a pink tutu. When the regulation was put on the books 20 years ago, it was because people didn't want dump trucks parked next to their home. It was because people didn't want pickups filled with wheel barrows and masonry tools in their direct view. These rules were on the books when the people bought their homes. They knew the rule, and it was OK then. so why is it a big deal now?"

Rowan Mybote lives in Lakewood Ranch and he believes he has the right to park any vehicle in his driveway because it is his land.

"We are talking land rights," he said. "The state has spoken on this issue. As a homeowner, it is going to cost me money to fight some stupid lawsuit that is going to arise from all this because our neighborhood is going to get sued, and we have no chance to win. I am basically going to be suing myself and paying lawyer fees for something I don't believe in."

Local resident Beau Cephus said he would have liked to have input into the dimensions of The Box.

"How the heck did they pick out the dimensions?" Cephus said. "I have four kids. I need that extra long cab. That length is going to have my back end sticking out the door. What does the length matter? It doesn't make it any better or worse looking. I have a long driveway, and it's also why I can't get my truck into my garage. So basically, this is about someone telling me I can't own the truck I want."

HOA officials have countered complaints by saying they will provide parking lots around the neighborhoods for owners of trucks that don't fit into The Box. Those lots — "Ugly Truck Parking — will be available 24-7. Those lots can be surrounded by trees so the trucks are not in view of homeowners. Golf carts will be provided so those who must park in the lot can easily go from the lot to home and back.

Residents should note that HOA board members are exempt from all regulations.

Lakewood Ranch's Jack Alfalltrades said the "accommodations" by the HOA are a slap to every truck-loving resident.

"They don't mean spit," Alfalltrades said. "They thought this would somehow lessen the lawsuits, but it ain't gonna work. They think they can chase me out because I drive a truck, wear plaid shirts, and listen to Mel Tillis. Well, no way."