Why neighbours are at war in one of Sydney’s richest suburbs – as dispute over boat parked on street turns ugly
A family’s boat parked on a residential street near a busy beach has sparked a tense war between residents of an upscale Sydney suburb.
A disgruntled local resident of Freshwater, on the Northern Beaches, has spray-painted the words ‘f*** it off’ on the cover of the boat to protest that it is taking up a parking space.
In a typewritten letter placed on top of the graffiti, the owners claimed that the boat and trailer were both registered and therefore parked legally.
‘Hello. My family and I recently took to the streets,” the one-page note began.
The owners of a boat parked in a street next to a popular beach have hit back after disgruntled locals spray-painted ‘f*** it off’ on the cover (pictured)
The owners of the wrecked boat hit back with a one-page typewritten letter, which was placed in a plastic sleeve and taped to the boat.
‘This is our family boat that we go fishing and wakeboarding on. The boat and trailer are registered and we can therefore legally park on the street.
‘We live on the street and didn’t just park it here, it seems like a quiet place.
“I’ve tried to be considerate by not parking directly in front of someone’s house or next to their driveway. The boat moves when we take it out.
“I hope you understand and don’t deface or damage our family boat.”
Photos of the wrecked boat were posted to Reddit earlier this week, with users quick to share their thoughts on the neighborhood drama.
“Boat owners: put the s*** in your driveway, on a mooring or in a storage facility,” one person commented.
‘Agreed. If you can afford to maintain that thing, you can also afford to rent a place to store it. Or at least dump it somewhere with lower density,” wrote a second.
“We also have a boat parked in the street,” said a third.
‘It has been in the same spot for so long that the wheels of the trailer have sunk into the asphalt. There are also five gigantic moving vans on the street.
‘The boys don’t even live nearby; I see them every morning driving their personal cars, getting into the trucks and going to work for the day.
According to the NSW Government, boats can be parked on residential streets for up to 28 days before having to be moved ‘at least to another block section of the same street’
“Every evening the entire fleet is back and takes up a parking space in a very dense area with already limited on-street parking.”
According to the NSW Office of Local Government, boats can be parked on residential streets for up to 28 days before having to be moved “at least to another block section of the same street”.
If the boat is not moved, a boat trailer (and any boat transporting it) can be seized.
The municipality may charge owners fees associated with retrieving a boat trailer (and boat) from an impound facility, and sell an unclaimed boat trailer after an appropriate holding period.
The laws do not apply if a residential parking permit has been issued by the municipality and displayed on the boat trailer.