Officials last week upheld a $30 ticket issued to a Darien real estate agent for parking in an area of a lot downtown that’s reserved for municipal workers.
The Parking Commission voted unanimously to uphold the ticket issued to Suzanne Sanchez of Houlihan Lawrence.
During an appeals hearing held Nov. 5 via videoconference, Sanchez told the appointed body that she’d parked once before in the Park Street Lot when she had meetings in New Canaan, and saw a sign saying it’s free for now due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Then two weeks later I went back for another meeting at work, and I parked in the same spot, and I left the car there and I saw there as a notice on the parking meter and I went back to my car and there was a ticket,” Sanchez told the Commission. “I got a parking ticket that I had parked in a no-permit space. And I didn’t see anywhere where it said that. And in my head, I felt it was like the week before and I didn’t have to pay for it, because there was a notice up on the parking thing that you pay. So I felt it was a little unfair, and I was only gone a half-hour.”
It happened along the far right here, in the Park Street lot in New Canaan. Credit: Michael Dinan
Sanchez appeared to have parked along the northern edge of the Park Street Lot, where there are signs that it’s for permit-holding town employees only. Records show the ticket was issued at 1:41 p.m. on Sept. 24 (a Thursday).
When Sanchez said, “But it’s public because you normally pay, I’ve paid to park there,” Parking Manager Stacy Miltenberg noted that none of the spaces have numbers.
“So those spaces you can’t pay for,” Miltenberg said.
Sanchez said she didn’t see the signs saying parking by permit only.
“It’s just misleading because I wanted to pay for it, and I went to the machine again and it had a note saying, No you don’t have to pay, so I didn’t see the sign that says it’s permit parking only,” she said.
The Commissioners were given a photo of Sanchez’s parking job that included the posted signs.
Commission Secretary Pam Crum said, “I’m looking at the picture and you are parked right next to the sign that says permit, town permit parking.”
Commissioner Peter Ogilvie said, “It’s pretty clear.”
The Commission voted 4-0 to uphold with little discussion.
“She didn’t get ticketed the time before when she parked there,” Crum said during deliberations. “She lucked out.”
Those voting included Crum and Ogilvie, as well as Chair Keith Richey and Commissioner Laura Budd. Commissioner Chris Hering was late to the meeting.