DEARBORN — To avoid being ticketed for parking on the street on Public Service Day, many Dearborn residents, who do not have driveways, have used empty lots in their neighborhoods to park their cars. However, this solution has created an issue with the City’s parking enforcement officers.

Last month, well known Arab American Dr. Abdelkader Hawasli, who is a resident of St. Clair Shores, received, via mail, a “notice to appear” for arraignment in Dearborn’s 19th District Court on June 6 for a parking offense. When he called the court, he was told that the offense is a criminal one and constitutes a misdemeanor.

The doctor received the letter because his nephew drives a car, owned by him, and had parked it on an empty grass lot across from his house on Shaddick Street, in the east side of Dearborn.  

Four others in the neighborhood, who had parked in that same lot, also received similar notices.

The Dearborn Police Department said that it would not comment on individual cases, but criminal charges are, in fact, rendered when parking violations become a zoning issue, such as trespassing on private or public property.  

Mohammed Aldalali went to court for parking on an empty lot last month as well. He said that the charges were dropped, but he had to pay a $50 ticket and an additional $50 in court fees.

Aldalali said that many others were with him in court for the same offense and had to pay similar fees. 

However, Hawasli said that the notice to appear in court will cost him much more than $100, because he has to take a day off of work and cancel patient appointments. He also hired an attorney, because he was alarmed by the prospect of a misdemeanor on his record.

Aldalali and Hawasli say that no signs were posted, indicating a “No Parking,” or “No Trespassing” zone, where their cars were parked. 

“I have a property in St. Clair Shores and cars park on it,” he said. “When I asked the police to do something about it, they told me that they could not ticket the cars, because I have not posted a ‘no parking’ sign.”

Hawasli feels that cities should follow the same standards when dealing with such matters.

Public Service Day in Dearborn is enforced from April 1 to November 30 every year. It occurs on different days of the week in different neighborhoods and is pushed back a day on weeks that include a holiday. Cars are not allowed to park on the street from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on that day.

The City enforces the Public Service Day parking policy strictly. By 10 a.m., almost all cars parked on the street on Public Service Day usually have a brown envelope with a ticket in it on their windshields. Tickets are $15, but can be reduced to half that amount, if paid within three business days.

“Public Service Days allow the City to provide services, like street sweeping, tree trimming and sewer and catch basin maintenance more efficiently and safely, because vehicles are not parked on the street,” a statement on the City of Dearborn website explains. “It also allows the City’s waste management contractor to more effectively pick up trash and recycling carts.”

The City advises visitors to inquire about the times that they are not allowed to park on the street in the Dearborn neighborhood that they are visiting.

The City offers “parking exemptions for Public Service Day” to households that have more cars than their driveway can allow, or those who do not have a driveway at all.    

Exemptions are awarded for addresses, not vehicles, so even if a Dearborn resident regularly drives the car of somebody who lives in a different city, he can still qualify for an exemption permit.

Applications for exemption permits are available at the police department and online at: //www.cityofdearborn.org/city-departments/public-works/public-service-days

Hawasli said that his nephew, who recently arrived from Syria, did not know about such a permit.

Aldalali said that he had not known about the permit either. He applied for one, but until he gets it, he is leaving his house for the library before 8 a.m. every Tuesday to spare himself a weekly ticket.