Columnist: Mother gets a break over nurse parking

Linda Rivera and her handicapped children are welcome in University Park after all.

The University Park Homeowners Association on Thursday resolved its issues with Rivera and the traffic generated by around-the-clock nursing care for her four “medically fragile” children.

Rivera assured the board her nurses will not park in front of neighbors’ houses and never intended to block anyone’s driveways.

The board said there was no problem and she will not be fined, said HOA president Dave McGrath.

The HOA offered to mark a parking space on tiny Saint Augustine Court specifically for her nurses, and it will put in writing its findings so HOA boards won’t revisit the issue.

“It was really great,” Rivera said Friday. “The whole thing kind of just went away.”

The HOA board’s response was satisfying enough, she said. But even more gratifying was the outpouring of support she received after her story appeared in The Gazette.

A dozen neighbors showed up at a hearing to stand up for her.

“People took off work to be there to support me,” she said, choking back tears. “They were telling me that my children and I are welcome in University Park. I’ve never been so touched.”