Neighbors car in front of my house dripping oil, how should I approach that?

[N0Nam3]

I've seen a few questions on "is it illegal to park in front of someone else's house", I dont think it is, and honestly, it would never bother me that my neighbor does. But, I'm living in my new (first) home that my wife and I bought just last year and my neighboors car is making a mess on the street right in front of our home. We really do love the home, we are proud to own a home and not be hurting with everything we hear about homeowners/mortages nowadays. The house isnt brand new so we try to put a lot of work, time and money to making it nicer. Everyday, and I mean everyday, almost 24x7, my neighbor, who has about 4-6 cars always around, has a car in front of my house. Not always the same car either. They have a 2 car garage, but I think they store too much in there to park cars. So they end up with cars in their driveway, in front of their house, and by default, ALWAYS in front of mine. It never bothered me until recently because I noticed HUGE oil stains starting to show up on the street that weren't there before. I'm really not against people using the street to park, but do I have any leverage to tell them they can't park there, especially if they are making the neighborhood look worse because their cars are leaking? I guess this might be a rule in the homeowner associations guide, havent looked there yet.

So thats my question, do I have any ground to stand on to ask them to fix their vehicle(s) before parking in front of my home? Or asking them to flat out move them? Or can they just put the old arguement back in my face of its just public property? I dont really know them that well, talked to them once when we initially moved in and they seem nice, but still, for as many cars as they have coming there I never see them around, we are on different shifts i guess. I even went by one day after work when I saw 3 cars were sitting around (1 in their driveway, 1 in front of their home and 1 in front of mine, remember, its a 2 car driveway) and nobody would answer the door. I considered trying to make a friendly letter to drop in their mailbox, but I think if it were me and someone did that I may consider it rude, what do yall think? Just looking for advice, trying to be the good neighboor here and not upset anyone but still avoide having my house's curb appeal go down.

Thanks.
.... just thought of something else, if anyone knows a way to clean big oil stains off the street in front of your home please tell me. I tried hosing it down with a hi-stream from my house and that didnt work at all. Thanks.

 

[Laurie]

There is no law that prevents anyone from parking in front of your house But, dripping oil and ruining the pavement would be a concern to the city and your homeowners association if you have one. Ask them first to please park off the street because the oil is causing damage to the pavement and causing unsightly stains. If they refuse, contact the HOA and city. You may need to call a few times,but something should be done. Good luck.