A group of neighbourhood kids selling parking spots on their front lawns during the Canadian Open have been warned by city bylaw officials to stop.

If they don’t, they could be charged $25,000.

According to residents of Princess Margaret Blvd., two men driving a beige Toyota Prius pulled up late Thursday afternoon.

“He flashed his badge and said, ‘We will tolerate this in your driveway, but get the cars off your lawn,’ ” said an angry Karen Howe, whose children Maura, 15, and Connor, 18, have been selling cold drinks and parking spots to those attending the tournament at St. George’s Golf and Country Club.

She added the officer was “so condescending it was unbelievable . . . it feels very David and Goliath.”

Howe’s children have been using four spots on their driveway and three on their lawn this week.

A stone’s throw away from the course’s main entrance, parking is $30 a day, $75 for three days or $150 for the entire week — a price scale agreed upon by about six other families on the street, also selling parking.

Just like Howe’s son, Victoria Regan is raising seed money for university tuition. She starts a degree at Ryerson in the fall.

A homemade sign drawn with marker outside her home reads: “Please! We want a higher education.”

“We’re just kids,” said the 18-year-old. “We’re not trying to cause any trouble.”

Curtis Sealock, district manager for municipal licensing and standards, confirmed that a complaint from the area prompted Thursday’s warning from municipal standards officers.

He said that while it is technically illegal to sell parking spots, “we’re not even going to go there,” reiterating that his officers only warned against parking on front lawns. Driveways are all right.

According to Sealock, if the residents of Princess Margaret Blvd. continue to park cars on their front lawns, they could be charged with the violation of a zoning bylaw, the maximum penalty for which is $25,000 for one offence and doubles to $50,000 for a second.

If found guilty, the courts would determine the penalty.

“That is ridiculous,” said Howe when the Star informed her of the potential consequence. “I would just love to see my 15-year-old in a court of law defending a $25,000 fine.”

For Howe, this latest development is especially frustrating.

“This Canadian Open has come in and turned our lives upside down . . . the city has been complicit with St. George’s in allowing them all kinds of transgressions such as closing a major artery in the city. I practically have to show I.D. to get into my own driveway,” she said.

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“We thought this parking was a neat little upside to the disarray that has become our lives. And then to be bullied by a bylaw officer?”

Victoria’s father, Larry Regan, agrees.

“We have to put up with the construction, the road closures, yet they’re coming and bugging us. . . . I said to (the officers), ‘The kids are just having a gas,’ ” he said.

There is precedent for selling parking on front lawns in Toronto. Neighbours of the Canadian National Exhibition have been doing so for about two decades with the help of a special bylaw, said Angie Antoniou, manager of traffic planning for the city of Toronto.

“There are exemptions on some of the streets around the exhibition,” she said, adding that it is the only place in the city where such an exemption exists for a special event.

As for the officer’s curt demeanour, Sealock said it was the first time he had heard of it. “I’m not defending, but we are an enforcement agency. Whenever we come into a situation and enforce, normally people are not happy.”

“We received a complaint and responded to the complaint,” he added.

Saturday and Sunday are the Canadian Open’s two busiest days.

Will the residents of Princess Margaret Blvd. continue to park cars on their front lawns?

“The guys on the street aren’t sure what we’re going to do right now,” said Larry Regan.