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The Kimry Moor Homeowners' Association has said David Orlando can't park this 2014 Ford 150 pickup truck in the driveway outside his home. The issue is at the center of a lawsuit. challenging his right to park his vehicle in the driveway.

(Photo by Elizabeth Doran)

A homeowners' association has filed a lawsuit seeking to bar a resident in the town of Manlius from parking his own pickup truck in his driveway.

The Kimry Moor Homeowners Association has filed a lawsuit against residents David and Arna Orlando in Onondaga County Supreme Court because they are parking their 2014 black Ford 150 pickup in their driveway at 511 Kimry Moor, just outside the village of Fayetteville.

The association wants an injunction to stop the couple from parking their pickup in the driveway of their home.



The association cites its regulations, which limits parking in driveways only to "private, passenger-type, pleasure automobiles," according to the lawsuit. The association owns all the driveways in the development, according to court filings. The Orlandos could park their pickup in their garage, but not in their driveway.

David Orlando said the pickup is his own personal. passenger vehicle and not a commercial vehicle of any sort.

"This is absolutely absurd,'' he said.

David Orlando also said other people are parking pickups in their driveway. This past week a Syracuse.com/Post-Standard reporter saw a full size pickup with cap, a large van and a sports utility vehicle parked other driveways in Kimry Moor.

Orlandos' lawyers said in court papers that the Orlandos' pickup is a "private, passenger-type, pleasure automobile" and therefore is in compliance with the rules. Orlando and his lawyer, Tom Cerio, said the pickup is registered with the state as a "passenger vehicle" and not as a commercial vehicle. And the Orlandos do not have commercial drivers' licenses.

"This is a silly rule,'' said Tom Cerio, who is representing the Orlandos. "It's fair to say the association is definitely overreaching. And they are enforcing this rule for a personal use vehicle, not a commercial vehicle."

Paul Curtin, lawyer for the Kimry Moor Homeowners' Association, said the case "is a matter of restrictive covenants, and interpretation of those covenants."

Curtin said a pickup "is not a passenger vehicle by definition." Therefore, whether the truck is registered as a commercial vehicle or not is "not germane'' to the case, he added. The Orlandos don't own their driveway and need to comply with the rules, he said.

The lawsuit was filed in August 2013 and is still in discovery with depositions to come next, Cerio said. He declined further comment because this is a pending court case.

The Orlandos have lived in Kimry Moor, which has 84 single-family homes off Mott Road near the village of Fayetteville, for about six years. The residents in the development own their homes, but the common areas, which include the driveways, are owned by the homeowners' association, according to the bylaws.

Every lot has a driveway and a two-car garage.

The Orlandos continue to park the truck in the driveway even after being notified they were in violation of the rules, court papers said.

Court papers also said the association has "impeded and interfered with the Orlandos' "quiet use and enjoyment" of their property. The Orlandos are seeking an unspecified amount of damages, which would help them pay for having to hire a lawyer to represent them in this legal proceeding.

Homeowners' associations typically charge a fee and then provide maintenance, lawn mowing, landscaping, plowing and other services for residents. They typically have rules and restrictions designed to keep neighborhoods attractive.

Other rules in the Kimry Moor association include not hanging laundry outside or on a clothesline; no parking of boats, trailers; no tents or shacks; no unusual noise or odors should come from a residence and holiday decorations must be displayed "in a subdued and proper manner."

David Orlando said he feels it's a shame taxpayers will have to pay for the court's time to hear this case.

"It's ridiculous,'' he said.

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