DCC "No residents parking for that apartment block"

boombang

I want to ask if anybody else has been in this strange situation.

I live in an apartment block in Dublin 2. It has some underground parking, but not all units have one, including mine. I just bought a car and went to Dublin City Council to purchase a residents parking permit. I had read about this on this DCC page and expected it to be no problem (apart from costing €400 while somebody living in a house pays only €50). The guys at the office said "you can't buy a permit for that block". The website doesn't say anything about certain blocks being eligible and other not.

I didn't spend long arguing with the guys as I thought it was futile even though I'm 99% sure they're wrong. I'm sure because I've spoke to a neighbour about his parking permit previously and I've also seen others with the visiting parking permits too (the scratch off ones).

Has anybody encountered this before?

Thanks in advance.

odyssey06

It's not very transparent I'm afraid, and I can only sympathise with your situation.

You need to figure out if your block is in a "high demand zone", and it's not clear how you would know this in advance.
See the section "How many permits are you entitled to buy" at the foot of this page:
http://www.dublincity.ie/main-menu-services-roads-and-traffic-parking-dublin-parking-city-residents/buy-parking-permit

In terms of "your block", the condition attached to your block that is relevant is whether is has > 4 units.
Reading the small print, it looks like it could be possible for some applications to be successful but not others, as earlier applicants may not be breaching the limits.

You are not the first, nor likely the last to fall foul of this...
See:
http://www.cieranperry.ie/Council%20Pages/DCC-jul-13.html

"Can the Manager clarify Dublin City Council parking permit policy? A resident in Nicholas House, Patrick Street, Dublin 8 has contacted me to complain that they have been told that they are not entitled to a permit because they reside in an apartment. This apartment complex has no off street parking provided. As local householders are entitled to parking permits it would appear that DCC policy is unfair to apartment dwellers."

CITY MANAGER’S REPLY:
The Dublin City Council Parking Control Bye-Laws, 2012, govern the issue of residents’ parking permits and set out the limits and eligibility and entitlement to residents parking permits. Bye-Law 22(5e) states “where the building consists of more than 4 housing units and is located in a heavy demand zone, residents shall not be eligible for residents’ parking permits”. A heavy demand zone is defined in the bye-laws as “a residential parking permit zone where either the number of residents’ parking permits that have been issued for the zone exceeds 65% of the total number of on-road residential parking places in the zone or where that number is less than or equal to 65% of the total number of on-road residential parking place in the zone and a proposed extension in eligibility for permits would result in 85% of the total number of on-road residential parking places in the zone being breached”
Nicholas House is one of several purpose built apartment buildings located on Patrick Street, Dublin 8. Nicholas House itself consists of 6+ apartments. There is no residential parking permit scheme in operation at present on Patrick Street. Residents of these apartment buildings would therefore have to be considered for permits for adjacent streets. Unfortunately, due to the very high volume of purpose built apartments located on Patrick Street versus the limited parking availability on adjacent streets, it is not possible to consider applications for parking permits from residents of Nicholas House or any of the apartment buildings located on Patrick Street as they do not qualify in accordance with the Dublin City Council Parking Control Bye-Laws 2012.

newacc2015

DCC limited permits even to houses. They might see there is x amount of cars on the road and decide they arent issuing anymore to the area. I would phone DCC parking services and ask them. Generally if someone in DCC doesnt give you the answer you want. Call them again and find someone who will. No two DCC staff give you the same answer IMO

boombang

Thanks Odyssey, that's really a very helpful reply. You're dead right, I didn't check the table towards the bottom of the page properly. I see zero places are stipulated for a large unit in a high demand zone.

I'll have to ask my neighbour how he got his. The only thing I can think of is that he got his in error somehow.

The link to the city manager's reply does give me some hope, as along my road there are very little residents parking permits (although in the broader neighbourhood this is different). I will pursue this further.

Thanks again, that was a great help. Much appreciated.

boombang

newacc2015 wrote: »

DCC limited permits even to houses. They might see there is x amount of cars on the road and decide they arent issuing anymore to the area. I would phone DCC parking services and ask them. Generally if someone in DCC doesnt give you the answer you want. Call them again and find someone who will. No two DCC staff give you the same answer IMO

Thanks. This is also interesting to know. I'll pursue this thing of how many permits on the street, as we seem to be well below the percentage stated in the other reply.

What you state about pot luck with the council officials might explain my neighbours permit.

Thanks again. Boards is real help figuring stuff like this out.

MrMorooka

If you live in Dublin 2, why do you need a car?

Caliden

MrMorooka wrote: »

If you live in Dublin 2, why do you need a car?

Maybe OP just likes to sleep in the car from time to time so when they go back to sleeping in their bed it's super comfy.

DrumSteve

MrMorooka wrote: »

If you live in Dublin 2, why do you need a car?

If you live in an Igloo, why do you need snow?

seamus

DrumSteve wrote: »

If you live in an Igloo, why do you need snow?

I'm having trouble working out if this is an incredibly subtle point that I'm not getting, or it's just a deliberate non-sequiter.

Though MrMorooka's point might be worth considering - how much is it going to cost you to park the car versus how much you realistically need one on a daily basis?

nomdeboardie

MrMorooka wrote: »

If you live in Dublin 2, why do you need a car?

Maybe they
-- Don't work in the area or within easy a reach by public transport?
-- Like to visit friends/relatives/countryside outside Dublin 2?
-- Go surfing
-- Transport elderly/disabled people to medical facilities
OK, this is silly as the possibilities are too numerous to list, but I would go with a default assumption that the OP got the car for some set of reasons or other. The fact that they didn't check the parking possibilities in advance is unfortunate, but questioning their purchase reasons is a bit pointless and patronising.

No advice to add, I'm afraid (meandered in from a search for something else), but good luck, OP

boombang

MrMorooka wrote: »

If you live in Dublin 2, why do you need a car?

It's true that I don't need one and have lived here for over a decade without one, occasionally renting instead. But I have bought one for my own reasons, which I don't need to explain. The ownership of the car is not the point of this thread, my desire to park it outside my home is.

Take a look at the first two replies to my question. See how helpful those people were.

edbrez

Change it for an electric car and park it beside those meters in the street.

L1011

edbrez wrote: »

Change it for an electric car and park it beside those meters in the street.

Parking is not free at those whether charging or not, and if you left your charge cable in to try pretend you were anyway it would eventually be nicked. They're not cheap.

imme

Are you looking for on-street parking OP

boombang

imme wrote: »

Are you looking for on-street parking OP

Yes

boombang

Just a follow up for the benefit of others. I emailed DCC with some of the info that previous posters here very helpfully sent me. DCC confirmed by email not only was there a space available, but that it would only cost €50 a year rather than €400.

Delighted, I went to pay. However, the lady at the desk told me it was going to be €400. I had a printed copy of the email with me and she checked my address carefully using Eircode. Eventually she agreed with the email and I was able to buy a permit for €50. She was helpful in that she examined the system carefully.

So, thanks again to the previous posters. The lesson is that it's important to persevere.