ROANOKE, Va. – Amanda Williamson, a healthcare worker in the Oakcliff neighborhood, has been unable to park in front of her home because her reserved parking spot is buried under a large pile of compacted snow and ice.
“I really don’t have the time calling all these places especially because I do work nights. I’ve been having to do a lot of my communication through social media, sending pictures, waiting on phone calls, it’s been challenging,” Williamson said.
Williamson’s neighborhood homeowner’s association hired a snow removal company that pushed snow in front of her house, completely covering her reserved parking spot. Without her reserved spot, Williamson often comes home from work to find no spots.
She’s been reaching out to the snow removal company, her neighborhood HOA, and Gibson and Associates to try to figure out what to do next. She was told the snow removal in her parking space is her responsibility.
“This is the overflow lot and unmarked spaces. It could’ve easily been pushed here,” Williamson said.
Williamson even spoke with snow removal companies about clearing the spot. She was told the cost could range from $400 to $600 due to hourly rates.
“Because they have an hourly rate, it would average anywhere from $100 to $200 an hour, so I feel like that’s not something I should be responsible for,” she said.
The Oakcliff HOA responded, saying,
“Property Management has been in contact with this homeowner. The snow removal contractor did the best it could in the tightly spaced area to minimize impact on parking during snow removal. Overall, we have received compliments from other residents regarding the timeliness and job done. Our snow removal policy applies to the cleaning of the roads with responsibility of cleaning individual parking spots on the residents. The resident in question appears to have been out of town during the cleanup. Upon return the other residents had cleaned their individual spots but hers still had the accumulated snow for the period. Parking spots are available in front of the unit in question and have been in use by the resident during this time as well as neighbors sharing their available extra spots. Please reference the attached snow removal policy.”
Gibson and Associates responded saying,
“Please note that we serve as the management company and act only at the direction of the Board of Directors. The contract is between US Lawns and the Oakcliff HOA, not between the management company and US Lawns.
The contractor has provided an update, and to my knowledge, the Board is allowing them to return tomorrow to assess whether additional action can be taken regarding the snow pile. "
While some parking spots were still snow-covered in the neighborhood, none faced such large amounts of snow piled and plowed into parking spots like Williamson’s.
“It’s definitely ice, it’s not like its snow that can melt. Everybody’s like, ‘Oh, it’s gonna be 60 degrees this week.’ I still think it can take up to mid-February, late March if you leave it like this,” Williamson said.
After interviewing with 10 News, Williamson received an email from Gibson and Associates stating, “US Lawns does have plans to revisit the community on Tuesday.”
Williamson awaits further updates to see if her parking spots will be cleared.