On the desk at the Burke Centre Conservancy, a fat three-ring binder, labeled "Special Parking Restriction Petition," is hard to miss. It is designed to establish Burke Centre as a Residential Parking District to prohibit the parking of boats, campers, trailers and certain commercial vehicles on public and state roads within Burke Centre.
The roads are currently under Virginia Department of Transportation rules, and the petition seeks to change their status, according to Sandy Manoogian, Burke Centre Architectural Review Board administrator.
"This is designed to regulate the streets that go through the neighborhoods," she said.
Burke Commons Road was one of the major problem areas. Now a camper, two boats and a trailer are parked just beyond the Kaiser Permanente building. A large horse trailer is also a problem.
"At some point, it looks like a junkyard," said Manoogian. "They're [homeowners] embarrassed. A couple of the communities down that strip have very limited parking for their guests."
Annette Tallant, a resident of 15 years, was aware of the petition. She remembered one instance when one of these types of vehicles was blocking the snowplows near her driveway.
"I remember seeing something about it at the Conservancy. I think it's a good thing. It's kind of annoying to have those vehicles on the street," she said.
The Burke Centre covenants do not permit these vehicles to be parked in the driveway, either. A special parking lot exists, said Manoogian, but it's currently full. The special parking facilities are not very flexible, though.
"We have a lot, but it's filled. There is no room to expand," she said.
Manoogian suggested establishing a private storage lot paid for by the owners. She didn't have specific recommendations for that option, either.
"There's an awful lot of storage areas," she said, but added, "We really have to let people operate on their own."
Dale Faulkner thought the Conservancy could do more in reference to available parking for such vehicles.
"The Conservancy needs to look at their RV [recreational vehicle] lot," he said. "Is that the only location in Burke Centre?"
Two years ago, Burke Centre started considering the parking changes with the help of Supervisor Sharon Bulova (D-Braddock). The petition is a recent move, which will take about a year, according to Manoogian. Burke Centre has 5,862 homes, and 75 percent of the homeowners need to sign the petition to start the process.
According to the information posted with the petition, the Statement of Request reads, "I request the establishment of a Restricted Parking District to prohibit on-street parking of watercraft, boat trailers, motor homes and camping trailers [and to also prohibit the on-street parking of any trailer or semitrailer and any vehicle primarily used for commercial purposes with a registered gross weight of 6,000 pounds or more if the law should be amended to allow such prohibitions] on the following streets ... ." The petition then lists 109 streets in Burke Centre.