The Village of Mineola passed a commercial vehicle law, making it unlawful to park a commercial vehicle in a residential area overnight, so that quality of life wouldn't be hurt as a result of streets and driveways being saturated with trucks that tend to be eyesores. However, one Mineola family has been hurt by the law and found the village's tactics in the matter to be upsetting.

John Luca, a resident of Emory Road and contractor, parks his Ford Econoline van he uses for work in his driveway. Luca said his van is standard size and inconspicuous with no lettering on it. However, he was surprised one morning when he received a knock at his door and was presented with a summons for violating the commercial vehicle law.

Luca took a picture of his van and brought it to village court to plead his case that his van was not affecting the quality of life of others on the street. "I figured it was going to be an open and shut case because my van is a plain, unmarked van. If you see it driving down the road, it looks like any one of the thousands of other vehicles in town. It is registered as a passenger vehicle," he said.

However, he was even more surprised when the judge showed him photos that were taken at 4:35 a.m. of the inside of his van, showing tools he uses for work. Luca described the photos as "studio quality," showing the inside of the van. "The inside of my van is lit up like a studio," he said.

Luca acknowledged that the photos could have been taken from the sidewalk. However, he was still upset that photos are being taken of the inside of his property as his family sleeps. "I don't see the just cause. Do they look inside every vehicle in the Village of Mineola? The idea that they were looking inside and lighting it up and taking pictures in the middle of the night is kind of what offended me," he said.

John and his wife Marie Luca voiced their displeasure at last week's meeting of the village board.

Luca said he chose to go to trial, which will be this month. The fine is $50. However, if Luca is found in violation of the law, he can no longer park his vehicle on a residential street overnight or on his property unless it is in his garage, a stipulation the law allows as long as the vehicle doesn't pose a safety risk.

Luca said he respects the nature of the law. However, he doesn't believe his vehicle is affecting the quality of life of his neighbors. The village board passed the commercial vehicle law to protect the quality of life of residents by making it unlawful to park certain types of vehicles used for business in full view within residential neighborhoods, thereby helping to maintain a suburban quality of life.