Imagine living in a neighborhood where there’s public street parking on the road in front of your house. What would you do if one of your neighbors was convinced that the street parking on the road in front of his house was his own private property?

In this story, one music teacher is in this situation, and she’s really sick of how the neighbor harasses her students’ parents when they try to park in front of his house.

The police aren’t any help, so she’s not sure what to do. She just wants him to back off and face the reality that he doesn’t own the street parking.

Let’s read all about it.

Neighbor thinks he owns a public street

Across the street I have “Dave,” who has decided he owns the actual street in front of his house.

It’s a public easement.

I confirmed with the sheriff that street parking is legal and totally fine.

I can see where this is going…

I teach music lessons out of my house, mostly one-on-one.

Once a week I run a one-hour group class with about ten kids.

My driveway fits 5–6 cars, but a few parents end up parking on the street.

I even tell them to stay on my side to avoid triggering Dave.

This guy needs to back off!

Doesn’t matter.

Dave has stood in the street directing cars and telling people they “can’t park on his side because he owns it.”

He has walked up to cars, knocked on windows, and even shined a flashlight into a student’s car to intimidate them.

He has tried to argue with parents.

This guy needs to be stopped!

For a while I put traffic cones on his side to appease him, but then he complained about the cones too.

He used to walk onto my property until I gave him written notice that he’s not allowed to.

Now he just lurks in the street and harasses anyone who parks nearby.

The situation seems kind of hopeless.

Other neighbors agree he’s unhinged, but not unhinged enough to get actual intervention.

Cops have basically shrugged; since he hasn’t technically broken a law, he’s just an aggressive nuisance.

He has been shown maps with property lines, had easements explained to him, and even been given paper copies on multiple occasions by myself and my other neighbors.

He just honestly doesn’t believe that the street isn’t actually his.

OP needs advice.

My question: what’s the best way to deal with someone like this?

Ignoring him doesn’t seem to help. Pushing back could escalate.

Has anyone dealt with a neighbor who tries to control public space and harass visitors without crossing a clean legal line?

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Surely, something can be done to get that guy to stop harassing OP’s students and their parents.

Let’s see how Reddit responded.

This idea might work.

Here’s another idea.

But this person would handle it differently.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a neighborhood that’s up in arms after HOA and city clash about whether or not homeowners can place cones.

And this person shares a similar situation.

That neighbor sounds so annoying!

I wonder why he’s so convinced that he owns the street parking. Surely, there’s some way to convince him otherwise. Maybe recording him is the answer.