I was working on my car last night until 1:00 AM I’ll didn’t finish my repair and left my car in the rear parking lot. I stayed a little longer until 1:30 AM and at 2 AM that night Pierce put a tag on my car. I return today at 2 PM to finish my work and saw that I had a tag on my car for it to be towed. My car has been “on and off” the property the last few days. It’s a bit much, It’s nice to be back at the space it’s nice that it’s open and available. I have told a lot of people that they should come and join the maker space but now I’m regretting telling anyone because it’s not welcoming or understanding of paying members.
Isn’t it against the rules to leave your car at the space?
Unless I misunderstand the rules, it sounds like you broke them.
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yeah, it’s against the rules to leave a personal vehicle in the back lot, and in automotive bays themselves it’s only allowed for the purposes of a parts run.
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https://dallasmakerspace.org/wiki/Rules_and_Policies
Parking
Members are not permitted to store vehicles at the Dallas Makerspace. All project cars must be removed from the premises after work, and may not be stored overnight without the permission of the Logistics Chair, who may grant an exception for one 24 hour period only. All vehicles left more than 48 hours will be towed without notice at the owners expense. No exceptions.
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Pearce*
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So you’re saying that it’s totally unreasonable to leave my car here for 12 hours because the parts stores aren’t open and I could not complete my project and drive the car anywhere.
Did you not read the rule? It was pretty clear.
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Antonio_P,
It seems like you’ve been drawn into a longstanding point of contention with the automotive crew. Well meaning (or not) have had projects that take longer than usual and want to park them in the back lot. The problem is that this has been abused and the fairly strict rule had to be created. It used to be that we could work late, and then return the next day to work on it. Unfortunately there were several vehicles that were left for long periods of time and the no overnight parking became a rule.
I know where you’re coming from, it’s a giant pain to bring a vehicle, work on it until late at night then need to take it offsite. Unfortunately the few have made it difficult for the rest of us.
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There’s a 24/7 autozone in the area, or you could just have the parts before you start. It’s your responsibility to plan for repairs to include “what if I can’t get this part” and either tow it or get permission from logistics for an exemption ahead of time if you expect it won’t go off. This isn’t a professional repair shop, it’s a shared space in a light industrial area with businesses front’s located behind us.
If you got the car here, you’re expected to be able to get it out.
Technically, this has actually been in our lease and our rules for quite some time. It was honor system then people really started abusing it, the landlord and the city took notice and slapped us, so we have to be very strict on enforcing it.
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Along with the other storage violations the car storage just seemed like you were deliberately trying to skirt rules.
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All it required was to notify the Logistics Chair and you were good. Did you leave a note even?
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well it’s not just notice, it’s permission. Knowing pearce he’ll answer a message quickly if seen. But just leaving a note and not getting confirmation wouldn’t be enough
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I make no assumptions whether he was trying to skirt the rules or whatever.
I still think making a blanket statement that if it can get to the space, it can go away from the space is just not how it is sometimes.
The closest 24 hour place that I know of, is at Garland and Buckner, a 30 minute ride each way. Then it’s not like they have every part imaginable.
I’m not trying to challenge the rules, I’m just saying that it doesn’t always work out how you plan.
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Honestly though, what’s the real issue here @Antonio_P? Those green tags are notoriously easy to remove and if you actually had plans to get the car removed today the tow truck would have never found your car.
The green tag is a warning, if it’s not here and not stored at the space again, it won’t be an issue.
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it’s an assumed risk working on vehicles at the space. You may put your car in a non-drivable state, and you assume liability if you do. I’ve made that drive to that autozone on buckner to get a part at 2am, and I’ve towed a vehicle out when I couldn’t.
No one is special for that.
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I guess the takeaway here is to message logistics via talk and state your intentions. As long as those intentions are sane and followed up, then we should be good to go.
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And this is the driving force for the rule.
One day turns into two, then a week, a month, before you know it there’s ten cars back there looking like ass and wasting space. It’s not so much you individually as it is everyone that’s abused the parking for years that led to this. Keep in mind how many people share those spaces, including neighboring businesses with customers.
In the future I wouldn’t mention being a paying member as a reason for anything. Your dues don’t grant you special status and everyone else here is also a paying member. The space offers incredible value. If you don’t think so there are businesses that’ll take your money. You can rent an auto bay elsewhere for about 2 hours for what your monthly dues cost.
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Sounds to me like the Logistics Chair was still at DMS when you decided to leave it overnight. A quick conversation with him might have avoided this angst, as the Policies state the the Logistics Chair can grant an exemption (but you have to ask).
I don’t think it’s fair to criticize Pearce for following the rules. If you don’t like the rule, try to change it, but don’t shoot the messenger.
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^^ This. No member gets to break rules just because it’s inconvenient. You’re a member, not a customer. Being a member means being held to certain standards as a part of the organization.
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