Resident drivers “can’t afford” to live in their own homes with new $50 a day truck parking fines

Truck drivers say fines from a newly enforced truck parking ordinance are making living at their own homes unaffordable. 

After a long battle with the county, long-time trucker residents of Loxahatchee and The Acreage, Florida in Palm Beach County are no longer permitted to park their commercial vehicles at their own homes, disrupting their long-standing way of life. 

The new ordinance banning parking semi trucks in neighborhood yards or driveways began on July 1st, and charges truck owners $50 a day if they continue parking their rigs on their own property as they have been doing for decades. 

“Many of us can’t afford these daily fines. I feel devastated,” said Natalia Melian, a Loxahatchee resident who runs her trucking business out of her home along with her husband. “I have been left speechless. I was under the impression they would present some type of special permit to accommodate those with vehicles over 16,000 pounds. However, that never went through,” Melian said to CBS 12.

County officials point to road damage as the reason for the change in rules, but residents say that truck parking, especially the affordable kind, is incredibly difficult to obtain in the area. 

“There’s been no damage whatsoever to our roads. We’ve all been out here for decades. I think the county should let us be,” Melian continued. “I have actually searched [for truck parking] all the way to Miami-Dade County, and I have not been able to find anything affordable and those that are affordable do not provide any type of security. So, if your vehicle or your unit gets stolen, they’re not liable for it,” she said.

Melian says that she and her husband may be forced to sell their home and move to a different part of the state if the ordinance and subsequent fines continue. 

“We don’t really want the extra expense to begin with. The economy is not in great condition at the moment and business profits are not as high as we wish they were,” she said. 

Two semi truck owners are currently suing the county over the ordinance. The lawsuit was filed back in April.