Want To Avoid Parking Tickets? Buy a Nicer House.

I don't know why, but for some reason I am actually surprised by this:

While residents of most parts of Oakland were hit with controversial new parking fees last summer, people in Montclair and Broadway Terrace were hit with "courtesy notices." Basically, people in most parts of the city had to feed meters until 8:00 p.m. rather than 6:00 p.m. That really angered residents and business alike. Just imagine how angry they would have been if they had known that people in Montclair and Broadway Terrace were getting a free pass.

According to the Chronicle:

Under pressure from businesses that complained the new parking rules were keeping customers away, the council in October rescinded only the meter enforcement from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., but left other elements in place.

However, unknown at the time, the parking department had deemed certain tony neighborhoods - Montclair and Broadway Terrace - off-limits from those two parking infractions. Parking violators in those neighborhoods were to receive "courtesy notices," according to a July 24 memo by Ronald Abernathy, a senior parking enforcement supervisor, sent to four parking supervisors and copied to parking Director Noel Pinto. The letter did not explain why the two neighborhoods were being spared from the tickets, which carry fines ranging from $40 to $100.