‘Absurd!’: San Francisco couple got $1.5K fine for parking in their driveway, now city vows to ‘modernize’ rules

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — Parking can be tough all over San Francisco. But one couple received a hefty fine for parking in what looked like a reasonable spot: their own driveway.

After 7 On Your Side got involved, the couple was allowed to keep parking in front of their own home, and the $1,500 fine was waived. Now, three years later, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie is taking further action to make parking less of a headache.

The story of Ed and Judy Craine went viral back in 2022: They parked their car on the concrete pad immediately in front of their Diamond Heights home, just like they had for the past 36 years. But one day they got a notice saying — it was illegal.

“Unbelievable!” said Ed. “It was deemed illegal because of the beautification desire for the neighborhood.”

Yet, ironically the result wasn’t pretty. Judy says the rule just exacerbated a parking eyesore on their steep street.

Not long after that, they got a ticket… for $1,542!

The San Francisco Planning Department issued the ticket for violating a code enacted to “ensure that front yards don’t turn into parking lots,” noting the house did not have a garage or cover. They threatened an additional fine of $250 per day if the car remained parked in front of their house.

“Absurd! It’s absurd! It’s like somebody just made up a rule…” Ed said. “And didn’t care if it made any sense!”

Well, it gets worse.

RELATED: SF couple gets $1,500 fine for parking in their driveway despite doing so for nearly 40 years

If you walk over to their next-door neighbors…

“They could park in their driveway and not get a ticket — because they had a garage,” Ed said, as he questioned how simply having a garage met the ‘beauty’ requirements.

However, the Planning Department did give them an out. The couple had to prove the concrete pad in front of their house had historically been used for parking. Then, they might get a waiver.

After 7 On Your Side aired their story, viewers all over the world offered to help. One viewer, a manager of an aerial photography collection, found a photo from 1958 that showed a car on the concrete pad in front of the house.

The city waived their fines and grandfathered in the couple’s “new” parking space.

Mayor Daniel Lurie now wants to cut through the red tape of outdated rules dictating how residents can use their own property.

RELATED: How an Army aerial photo expert helped SF couple park in driveway again after threat of $1.5K fine

Elizabeth Watty is the city’s Director of Current Planning. She says this started as a part of Mayor Lurie’s PermitSF initiative — and became his first directive as mayor.

“The directive was — how can we do better? How can we create some improvements around common-sense governance?” said Watty. “It felt a bit embarrassing that this was a regulation that we still had on the books.”

In other words…

“The city is modernizing its rules to amend the planning code so that homeowners can park in their driveway and no longer receive violations under the planning code,” said Watty.

So, this means… Ed and Judy can park peacefully in their driveway, without any carport or expensive fence.

“Hallelujah!” Ed said.

RELATED: SF couple allowed to park in their driveway again after threatened with $1.5K fine from city

But the city is still enforcing some rules.

“You still cannot park on the sidewalk,” Watty said.

The city does not allow any car to cross over the property line; they want all sidewalks to be clear and accessible.

Plus, the city says only up to two vehicles can be parked in the driveway.

Those in violation won’t get off easy. You’re looking at a fine of $1,725.

“It’s nice to see city government actually listening and responding,” said Ed.

Even if it took three years.

“Why did it take so long?” asked 7 On Your Side’s Stephanie Sierra.

“Good question…. it shouldn’t of taken this long… but I would say under Mayor Lurie’s administration the pressure has really been on to think about these pragmatic common-sense improvements,” Watty said.

For Ed and Judy… it’s better late than never!

“Because to me, it’s the quality of life… and one of those things includes being able to park!” laughed Ed.

Right now enforcement for this is complaint-based, which the city says has led to some unfair treatment on who gets cited and who doesn’t. Now, Mayor Lurie’s directive will waive all existing complaint violations–relieving more than 100 residents from having to go through what Ed and Judy did.

The amendment will be introduced after Labor Day.

Note: The city says PermitSF is working to reform the current permitting process to make it easier and customer-focused. If you have an issue you’re struggling with in your neighborhood, you can share your experience with the city at www.sf.gov/permitsf or email them at [email protected].