FC Parking

The worst part about the situation is that they didn't bother to consult residents.

For anyone working 9-5 it is impossible to get to the leasing office during the week especially when a commute is involved.

They've essentially made having visitors an near impossibility with 24 hr passes and having to go to the leasing office to get them. As it is, I'm concerned about getting my parking permit in time. I'm a resident and should be able to have company without asking permission. If they made permits expire the whole parking problem would be solved.

Given the lack of public parking in the area, the visitor's policy is nonsensical. How is someone with a 9-5 job on a Friday supposed to be able to get parking for a visitor that needs to park a car overnight on a Friday into a Saturday morning? Additionally, 10 maximum visitor permits for our entire complex can't be nearly enough. As it is, everyone has the ability to park two cars and I know at least, I've never had difficulty finding a spot in the north development.

The situation with visitor parking tags is that it may clearly be abused! I know and I HAVE SEEN people give these passes to friends who live in the area and park in our complex in order to park near the metro. I think a 48-hr pass is much more reasonable. For those who work 9-5 and need a pass overnight, an online form should be available in such a way that a permit can be printed out or delivered home. The printable pass should have an expiration time-stamp and a number and the towing truck can check the permit number (we're in the age of mobile information, so this should be a non-issue for the tow truck driver) against a list of permits that have been given out to ensure the printable permit has not been altered. I have SEEN PEOPLE abuse our parking policy and I'm tired of seeing ALL OUR SPOTS taken away by people who do not live here (nor have a permit) at night time! Taxis nor constructions/business vehicles SHOULD NOT be parked here. Oh, and PLEASE get rid of the stupid reserved spots! There are about 20-24 EMPTY reserved spots that could be used for the rest of us, the residents. And there may be a few of us who have 1-2 vehicles who should be able to register them, especially those who were here BEFORE the new parking policy went into effect! Everyone should be able to get their permits if they show verification that they drive their vehicle, NO MATTER WHICH STATE the vehicle is registered in!!!!

I understand the need to provide parking for everyone who lives here however, having to go to the office and get a parking pass EVERY TIME equates to having to ask permission. I realize that that is not the intent, but it is the impact of that decision.

If a friend wants to drop by for coffee on Sunday morning the resident has to go down to the office and get a pass OR the guest has to park heaven knows where - 16th Street maybe - and then trek in to the home... AN INCONVENIENCE for everyone.  And you can only park on 16th St for a limited time.  If the visitor is elderly or bringing children, it make it even worse. If someone wants to bring a friend home after work and misses the office - then what? It's dangerous and inconvenient.

The printable pass described above is an option OR go back to the hangtag like the ones we were before. They did work.

I have NEVER seen the "reserved lot" full - that needs to be abandoned and those spaces can be used by our residents.   I realize that we have to get rid of those incroaching on our spaces, but to essentially punish the rest of us seems like using a canon to get rid of a mosquito.  Please think of something else.

#2: -

I agree!!!

As a new resident to Maryland, I have 60 days to re-register my car in Maryland. It is quite a process because I have to have the state inspection done, get insurance in MD, get a new license, and then register it. I work, so it is difficult for me to get all of this done. I went to the office to get my parking pass and explained that my registration would change relatively soon. They said that I have to get it done before friday to get a parking pass because it is linked to the registration of the car, and they can't change it? This is ridiculous to me. They did not give me enough time to be able to get all of this done.

Over the last few months, even without a parking policy in place, I have experienced no issues with regards to parking, even though I frequently return late in the evening. Having a parking policy is obviously necessary in the long term, but FC is doing nothing but create problems. First of all, as a student, my car is registered out of state, as I'm not a permanent resident of Maryland. Second, the visitor parking policy is astounding. Not only do I leave before the office opens and return home after the office closes, but I'm essentially asking permission to have a guest. Now, I understand that this is common in other places, but they do a better job of it. It should be done online, last AT LEAST 48 hours, and not require to be dealt with during business hours. The tiny number of available guest passes is also a problem, especially when they're first come, first serve, and anyone who has time constraints is forced to pay for a pass. Terrible policy all around when it comes to guests. Third, the reserved parking. You want to open up spots? Then get rid of the reserved parking, or at least cut the number of spots. It's not like the almost entirely unused reserved lot is a revenue generator.
I'm aware that a lot of this could have to do with the upcoming construction. First of all, maybe worry about that when it happens, as the north side as been "a year away" from being demolished for the last decade. Second, assuming construction ever actually gets underway, that means people start moving out, and parking opens up, and this super restrictive policy ends up having no point whatsoever.

One more note - don't have the office closed 2 days before the parking regulations go into affect.
Dumb, dumb, dumb. All of it.

your new parking rules violate my rights! and I am thinking about not renewing my contract.

This new system makes no sense. Part of why I moved to FC was because of the parking policy. That has now changed without the management speaking to residents at all. And now I am stuck in a contract that I don't like because I was given no options. Also, getting to the office during their open hours is quite difficult, not to mention that when I do there are typically lots of other people there. I do not like the new management company. Me needing to request to have a friend over is asinine.

How did they decide to go with this policy without any consultations. Ever since the new management company took over, things have been going downhill at FC. I can't believe they have made having visors IMPOSSIBLE!!!

I find JBG's new guest parking policy highly objectionable. I don't necessarily know when I will be having a guest. What if nobody is in the rental office? -not an unusual occurrence even at times when the office is supposed to be open. What if you have to wait 20 min before someone can help you? -again not unusual, especially on weekends when the office is seriously understaffed. This is not the parking policy I was expecting when I signed my lease. I don't even understand why this policy is being implemented. I thought the policy we had worked just fine.

No provision was made for those of us who don't have personal vehicle but rely on share cars, such as Zipcars. It is an inconvenient to be told to park on the street because I was unable to obtain a parking pass before the office closed for the day. Sometimes I pick up a Zipcar when I need to run errands after work, or when it's too late to take public transportation, which is usually after 6pm when the office is closed for the day. Majority of the time I don't plan on getting a zipcar, so it's not always possible to get a pass for the day.
Hence, I completely agreed with the suggestion that JBG should give each resident on the lease a parking pass, regardless if they own a car or not. One parking space was allowed to me in my lease, and I should be able to use that space when I want, with convenience.

I think the new parking rules will benefit us. Every day I see people park here and walk straight over to the metro. Not visiting anyone here at all!!! I know its a headache to have to get passes for our visitors from the office, however I live in the south and there is literally no parking over here because of VISITORS! I pay my rent in full on time every month so I should get to park first! I am greatful that they do not charge for parking as all of the other communities around here do, but give an option on whether you want a reserved space or not. I'm already paying a rediculous amount for a monthly metro pass. Maybe we can work together with the office to see if they can give some of the reserved spaces away to us or have visitor marked spots in the community.

I have been a resident of Falkland Chase for a few months now and I'm glad to see this change in parking. I, along with the rest of the caucus on here,work regularly scheduled business hours and sometimes extra just to get the job done and it's burdensome to come home and search for parking. I chose Falkland Chase not because of the condition of the apartment but location. I have friends who live in the Blair's, Citron, and The Point. I could have easily gone here but this place was a top pick because of location and free parking. This is the only place that I've seen in the area with free parking beside the slums ( Summit Hills) I've done a lot of research and asked a lot of my neighbors about the history of this place. Yes, the visitors pass thing is a bit unjust; however, I asked the people in the office and they said it is temporary. I am reading a lot of reviews on here and it seems like a lot of the viewpoints are not accurate. I read the literature that they sent out and it says nothing about 10 passes, it's 15 and I live on West Falkland and I got the letter about the tearing down the place. From my understanding it's just telling me that I can't have a 2 year lease because of the "proposed plans." I don't think it's fair to start a revolution over something that we all as a community don't fully understand. I may be the minority siding with the office people but I know how difficult it is to change something and receive a lot of backlash from it. Honestly, from this parking policy my mind hasn't been as boggled searching for parking. It's still a process but it is becoming easier.

I am very disappointed that the author of this "petition" reacted without obtaining the correct information. I have spoken with the leasing office and got a totally different story. Parking is an issue at Falkland Chase especially at night. I have noticed a huge difference since towing has been enforced. There are several tenants that have given out their passes to friends, which allows them to park on the property and isnt a resident. We are less than 1 week into the new policy and no one is willing to give it a try. The property owners are actually able to enforce anything that they want since this is "private property". Home Properties sold this property last year and their rules went out the door with them. We are so lucky that the staff doesnt charge every resident for parking. This is the only downtown located complex that doesnt charge their residents for parking. I think we need to try to obey the rules. After all, its for our benefit as the resident. My guest can take the metro train or park on colesville rd at the parking meters.

Thank you for taking the time to comment: The more people who participate in this process, the more our community benefits.

Although your comments clarify your position, the count of total signatures AGAINST the new parking policy now includes yours -- which I know was not your intent.

As a more effective alternative, you might consider starting a “pro-policy” petition. That way, the total signature count would accurately record your stand on this issue. I am sure there are others in Falkland Chase who would welcome the chance to provide a different perspective from the one in this petition.

Regardless of whether you decide to start an alternative petition, you are welcome to leave your signatures and comments here. Again, thanks for your participation.

#18: Linda - RE: Comments 15, 16, and 17 

 I agree with #18 that this petition is for those who are against the new parking policy, and I also suspect that comments 15, 16 and 17 were added by the management.

Regardless, the new management came in power boasting that they heard the criticisms of tenants about the over-zealous towing of Home Properties and were suspending, indefinitely, the towing policy.  Since that time, I have never seen a problem finding a space, at least in the North parcel, even very late at night.

The current management should consider "grandfathering" those tenants who have been here longer than a few month's tenancy andwho have regarded the policy of having one hanging "visitor" permit per rental unit as one of the only amenities of living at Falkland-Chase.  Let those who now sign a new lease be made aware of this policy and have to live under it should they decide to rent here.  Those who already have a lease in effect should be "grandfathered" in. By natural attrition, the new policy will soon be in full effect and fully supported by those in residence.  Let the author(s) of 15, 16 and 17 cheerfully live by the new policy and there you have 1-3 extra spaces already.

Had I known, when I signed my most recent lease (I have been here over 4 years) that the new management was going to take away one of the few amenities---parking--I would not have signed on again.  The newer apartment complexes may charge for parking, but they usually have 24-hour desk service, washers and dryers in the apartments or at least in the buildings, pools, etc.  Many of Falkland-Chase residents have weighed their decision to live here based on location, allowing pets (for which pet owners pay extra every month--so not really an amenity), pleasant green space, and a more friendly atmosphere, etc.

In summary, I urge the management to revisit their new policy and question why they are now doing this when those of us who have signed this petition see no parking problem for the months it has not been in effect.  Also, why not give residents parking stickers with the dates punched showing the period of validity, e.g. the term of the lease.  And, good luck trying to peel the sticker off when moving so get ready to pay $150.  Oh, and what business is it of the management to check a car registration.  Valid license plates, make, model and color are all that is required.