University Plaza Apartments (UP) decided to revert to its policy of allowing tenants to park on a first-come, first-serve basis this January, after tenants voiced their displeasure with the current reserved parking space system in an online survey.     

UP instituted a parking policy at the beginning of the fall semester that assigned designated parking spots to residents who purchased a parking permit. Residents had the option of purchasing a $75 semester-long permit or a $150 academic-year-long parking permit.

Ambling Management Co. — the company that contracts with Newman Development Group, the complex’s owner, to manage the property — sent an email to tenants on Thursday, Sept. 29 asking them to fill out a survey on the website Survey Monkey to provide the UP administration with information on their opinions regarding the current parking policy.

Many residents complained about lacking enforcement for the designated-spot system.

Ashley Lewis, a senior in the Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering, said in September that UP’s management had not been actively monitoring the parking space allocation.

“They didn’t do anything, they just gave me a temporary parking pass and told me to park in another spot,” Lewis said. “Because they don’t enforce the rules, people park wherever they want.”

Corky Gatewood, vice president of marketing and professional development for Ambling, said that under both policies, cars without a valid parking sticker in a UP-designated space will be subject to towing, but that towing for UP is handled by Newman Development.

But according to an email exchange obtained by Pipe Dream, Newman Development refused to tow cars parked in designated spots, which made the reserved-space system non-functional.

The exchange, between Amy O’Hara, Ambling’s leasing manager for UP, and a tenant — who has expressed frustration with the reserved-space system, but was disappointed that UP flipped back to a first-come, first-serve parking system — took place last Tuesday.

“I can definitely understand your frustrations as we are also affected by the parking situation,” O’Hara wrote in an email to the tenant. “The Land Owner [Newman Development] absolutely will not permit us to tow any vehicles so the current parking situation is not working nor were we able to come up with any other solution to better serve your needs. Ideally, if we were able to enforce towing we believe the current system would have been best. Situations not of our control did not permit that.”

A spokesperson for Newman Development, when contacted by Pipe Dream yesterday, said Newman was unaware of the change in parking policy and would not comment.

UP sent a second email last Monday that claimed that 61 percent of residents said they would prefer an open parking policy rather than assigned parking, whereas 17 percent said that they were happy with the current policy.

The email stated that as a result, UP will reinstitute first-come, first-serve parking beginning Jan. 1, 2012.

“Residents will continue to park in the designated University Plaza Apartments parking spaces, however, the spaces will not be assigned to one resident in particular,” the email stated. “Parking will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis.”

The Oct. 10 email pledged that residents who paid for an annual parking permit will receive a $75 refund in January. It further stated that UP “will not require residents to pay for parking for the spring/summer portion of their lease term.”

Gatewood said he hopes that adopting the parking policy would leave tenants more satisfied.

“We value our residents and want to take steps to better meet their needs whenever possible,” Gatewood said.

Though a majority of the tenants UP surveyed said they would want the parking system changed back to first-come first-serve, some tenants said they were aggravated by the reversal.

“I purposely got in line at 5 a.m. so that I could have my spot for the rest of the semester,” said Emily Schweitzer, a junior majoring in human development. “I am upset that UP is changing the policy, yet again, just because they are incapable of enforcing the policy.”

Nina Friedman, a junior majoring in psychology, said she emailed UP’s management to inform them that she was still upset with the parking situation.

“I [lined up for a space at 5 a.m.] because I was under the impression that I would be able to keep my parking spot for the entire year,” Friedman said. “I even hoped I would be able to keep it next year. If they don’t keep their original policy, I will definitely consider moving Downtown or to another housing complex because it just isn’t fair.”