What can I do? Perhaps legal advice

[Gamingphreek]

Resolved - latest post:

This really sucks on a lot of levels. I honestly and truly simply misunderstood the section on this - obviously I wasn't paying enough attention.

There is no point in me appealing and trying to get off on a technicality that I wasn't where they said I was. I was in the wrong this time, regardless of how unclear the rule may have been.

At the same time, resident parking is about 3/4 of a mile away. I have a hard time believing they expected me to park all the way out there, drop of some groceries, and then walk back. If that is the way it is, then so be it - but it seems very unreasonable.
-------------------------

The last ticket I got was 100% bogus:
About a year ago, me and a few friend went to dinner for a birthday. We got back (I drove 1 person) and parked the car in the resident parking area as it was a Sunday night - by resident area, I mean I was literally underneath the giant sign with an 'R' on it. One of the other cars from our group parked right next to me.

Wednesday I get an Email saying that I received a ticket that day and had to move the car or it would be towed. I thought there was some kind of mix up, so I walked all the way down to the lot to find out what happened.

I got there and noticed my door was unlocked - thinking my passenger merely forgot to lock the door, I didn't think much of it. I looked and it said that I "had failed to display my parking permit". I looked up, and my permit was gone - upon further inspection, it was placed neatly in the side pocket of the door. I thought someone had been jerking with right there, so I walked all the way to the parking services building then.

When I got there the person said they wouldn't take the ticket back because I was parked in a Faculty Staff spot. I assured them that I wasn't - but they flat out refused to do anything but said I could appeal if I paid the ticket first.

Agitated, I walked back to where my car was parked and took pictures on my phone of my Car, my car with the resident sign, and all the surrounding cars which did not have tickets. It was now over spring break and I couldn't appeal (to my knowledge) because they were closed and I was away. I got back and tried to pay to appeal and had to pay $10 more (in addition to the $30) because it was late. They said they don't normally let you appeal when it is late and that I was lucky they were doing this.

I appealed and received a letter saying that I was in violation of policy and that my fine was upheld.

Very angry now, I called and requested a second (and final appeal) in front of a committee. I told them it was exam week, but they couldn't do anything about it and scheduled it right in between 2 of my exams. I walked into the room, and very politely stated my case, showed the pictures, and presented written letters from my friends who had parked next to me that I was in a Resident lot.

That committee could not have treated me more rudely. One of the women there talked down to me as if I were something less than a child asking mocking questions and snickering under her breath. When I said that Monday and Tuesday had passed without a ticket, she snapped back, "So you don't think its possible to get tickets other days?".

Needless to say, my appeal was denied and I was out $40 - not to mention that the entire ordeal took away from my studies.

I realize I was wrong here, but hopefully this explains a little bit where I am coming from.
---------------------------------------------
Thanks so much for all the help everyone - I really appreciate it - even though I ended up being in the wrong,
-Kevin

 

[jmcoreymv]

Why don't you contact the school newspaper?

 

[Patt]

Why do you pay before lodging an appeal? That sounds backasswards.

 

[lxskllr]

I'd steal school equipment. Take enough that the debt has been payed off. Deceitful practices deserve the same in return.

 

[leftyman]

ride a bike.

 

[Gamingphreek]

Originally posted by: Patt
Why do you pay before lodging an appeal? That sounds backasswards.

They will not accept and appeal unless you pay. They say that payment is not an admittance of guilt. As far as I am concerned that is a lie. I have never heard of them overturning a ticket from anyone - and I am a Junior.

Ok - I'm not going to do anything illegal to get back at them lol - I want to know what I can do as far as LEGAL advice haha.

Thanks,
-Kevin

 

[Gamingphreek]

Originally posted by: leftyman
ride a bike.

I do ride a bike. The car stays parked unless I need to go somewhere long distance. In this case, I was transporting audio equipment for Large Group services and had to drop off groceries for a program I was doing as an RA (The audio equipment takes up the entire bed of the truck, so the groceries had to be cleared). 1 load - 5 minutes to walk upstairs.

-Kevin

 

[shocksyde]

Originally posted by: leftyman
ride a bike.

Yeah! Cause when you're loading or unloading, it's easier to do so out of a bike's trunk!!!

 

[shopbruin]

"Long term parking is prohibited at loading docks and other areas commonly used for loading. Thirty minutes is the maximum time allowed for loading and unloading... Authorization, recorded on the parking services green log sheet, can be obtained by calling Parking Services 8-5, M-F.

Resident permit holders may park in most faculty/staff areas near residence halls after 2:30PM on Fridays for loading and unloading."

Unless I'm reading this wrong:

1. You couldn't be parked in a loading zone unless you had authorization. It didn't sound like you had the required authorization.
2. You weren't in a faculty/staff area, you were in the loading zone, which is why you had the ticket. Are faculty/staff allowed to park in loading zones? Perhaps faculty/staff have designated spots closer to the building and you're allowed to park there after 230 on Fridays when most of them have already started to leave for the week?

This is why I always have someone in the car if I'm going to park it "illegally" for five mins so they can move the car when they spot parking enforcement. If there's no one with me, I'd rather search for a spot than risk a ticket.

 

[dbk]

Did you have someone in the car while you did all that?
It's your word against theirs.

Whenever I had to do anything on campus like that, I brought a roommate and had him wait/drive around in the car.

Parking services is a POS.

They raised tickets prices every year, it seems. My first was for like $30 as a frosh. How much is it now?

 

[Gamingphreek]

Originally posted by: freesia39

"Long term parking is prohibited at loading docks and other areas commonly used for loading. Thirty minutes is the maximum time allowed for loading and unloading... Authorization, recorded on the parking services green log sheet, can be obtained by calling Parking Services 8-5, M-F.

Resident permit holders may park in most faculty/staff areas near residence halls after 2:30PM on Fridays for loading and unloading."

Unless I'm reading this wrong:

1. You couldn't be parked in a loading zone unless you had authorization. It didn't sound like you had the required authorization.
2. You weren't in a faculty/staff area, you were in the loading zone, which is why you had the ticket. Are faculty/staff allowed to park in loading zones? Perhaps faculty/staff have designated spots closer to the building and you're allowed to park there after 230 on Fridays when most of them have already started to leave for the week?

This is why I always have someone in the car if I'm going to park it "illegally" for five mins so they can move the car when they spot parking enforcement. If there's no one with me, I'd rather search for a spot than risk a ticket.

Authorization is not necessary after 2:30PM on Fridays. Additionally, parking services is only open 8AM-5PM - after 5 the police can grant authorization; however, since it was a Friday it was not necessary for me to call.

I didn't have anyone with me at that time; however, I did leave the door cracked, the tail gate and camper shell open. I also left the lights on to signify that I was in fact unloading the car.

Faculty Staff are not allowed to park in the docks. Service vehicles are - and, according to the manual, Resident holders are allowed to within certain times for a maximum period of 30 minutes.

-Kevin

 

[leftyman]

Originally posted by: shocksyde

Originally posted by: leftyman
ride a bike.

Yeah! Cause when you're loading or unloading, it's easier to do so out of a bike's trunk!!!

where did the op say he was loading or unloading anything?

never mind just found it...but he could still put a basket on the handle bars

 

[rudder]

Originally posted by: freesia39

"Long term parking is prohibited at loading docks and other areas commonly used for loading. Thirty minutes is the maximum time allowed for loading and unloading... Authorization, recorded on the parking services green log sheet, can be obtained by calling Parking Services 8-5, M-F.

Resident permit holders may park in most faculty/staff areas near residence halls after 2:30PM on Fridays for loading and unloading."

Unless I'm reading this wrong:

1. You couldn't be parked in a loading zone unless you had authorization. It didn't sound like you had the required authorization.
2. You weren't in a faculty/staff area, you were in the loading zone, which is why you had the ticket. Are faculty/staff allowed to park in loading zones? Perhaps faculty/staff have designated spots closer to the building and you're allowed to park there after 230 on Fridays when most of them have already started to leave for the week?

This is why I always have someone in the car if I'm going to park it "illegally" for five mins so they can move the car when they spot parking enforcement. If there's no one with me, I'd rather search for a spot than risk a ticket.

yeh I want to know what the ... contains. It sounds like he was parked illegally to me. From what I see you can park in the loading zone, but you have to get permission.

 

[shopbruin]

Originally posted by: Gamingphreek

Originally posted by: freesia39

"Long term parking is prohibited at loading docks and other areas commonly used for loading. Thirty minutes is the maximum time allowed for loading and unloading... Authorization, recorded on the parking services green log sheet, can be obtained by calling Parking Services 8-5, M-F.

Resident permit holders may park in most faculty/staff areas near residence halls after 2:30PM on Fridays for loading and unloading."

Unless I'm reading this wrong:

1. You couldn't be parked in a loading zone unless you had authorization. It didn't sound like you had the required authorization.
2. You weren't in a faculty/staff area, you were in the loading zone, which is why you had the ticket. Are faculty/staff allowed to park in loading zones? Perhaps faculty/staff have designated spots closer to the building and you're allowed to park there after 230 on Fridays when most of them have already started to leave for the week?

This is why I always have someone in the car if I'm going to park it "illegally" for five mins so they can move the car when they spot parking enforcement. If there's no one with me, I'd rather search for a spot than risk a ticket.

Authorization is not necessary after 2:30PM on Fridays. Additionally, parking services is only open 8AM-5PM - after 5 the police can grant authorization; however, since it was a Friday it was not necessary for me to call.

I didn't have anyone with me at that time; however, I did leave the door cracked, the tail gate and camper shell open. I also left the lights on to signify that I was in fact unloading the car.

Faculty Staff are not allowed to park in the docks. Service vehicles are - and, according to the manual, Resident holders are allowed to within certain times for a maximum period of 30 minutes.

-Kevin

To make sure: Do you have a permit to park in that dorm?

Leaving the door open/lights on/shell open doesn't mean you're loading the car. It just means you know you shouldn't be there and will get cited anyways. There have been plenty of people who park in a loading zone and leave their lights on... and disappear for half an hour.

Since you say faculty/staff are not allowed to park in the loading dock, it appears that the argument about being allowed to park in faculty/staff areas near res halls after 230pm is moot, since they aren't allowed to park there in the first place.

If you want to see if you have a legal recourse, ask student legal services (if you have them) for help. They're low cost/free for students depending on the nature of the advice, but then thinking about that, they might not be able to help in you actions against the school.

Do you have anywhere in the manual that says authorization is NOT required after 230pm, other than the faculty/staff part?

What does the manual define as "certain times?"

I hope you see what I'm trying to do here - pick through the manual thoroughly, and not just find things that say "you can park after 230pm." I used to work for a university, and I could park in any lot after 4pm... except a couple of lots with restricted all day parking. If I didn't read that far, it would still be my fault for the ticket, even if there are no signs posted.

 

[MrChad]

Originally posted by: freesia39

Originally posted by: Gamingphreek
Authorization is not necessary after 2:30PM on Fridays. Additionally, parking services is only open 8AM-5PM - after 5 the police can grant authorization; however, since it was a Friday it was not necessary for me to call.

I didn't have anyone with me at that time; however, I did leave the door cracked, the tail gate and camper shell open. I also left the lights on to signify that I was in fact unloading the car.

Faculty Staff are not allowed to park in the docks. Service vehicles are - and, according to the manual, Resident holders are allowed to within certain times for a maximum period of 30 minutes.

-Kevin

To make sure: Do you have a permit to park in that dorm?

Leaving the door open/lights on/shell open doesn't mean you're loading the car. It just means you know you shouldn't be there and will get cited anyways. There have been plenty of people who park in a loading zone and leave their lights on... and disappear for half an hour.

Since you say faculty/staff are not allowed to park in the loading dock, it appears that the argument about being allowed to park in faculty/staff areas near res halls after 230pm is moot, since they aren't allowed to park there in the first place.

If you want to see if you have a legal recourse, ask student legal services (if you have them) for help. They're low cost/free for students depending on the nature of the advice, but then thinking about that, they might not be able to help in you actions against the school.

Do you have anywhere in the manual that says authorization is NOT required after 230pm, other than the faculty/staff part?

What does the manual define as "certain times?"

I hope you see what I'm trying to do here - pick through the manual thoroughly, and not just find things that say "you can park after 230pm." I used to work for a university, and I could park in any lot after 4pm... except a couple of lots with restricted all day parking. If I didn't read that far, it would still be my fault for the ticket, even if there are no signs posted.

Yeah, I'm going to guess that loading docks are not the same as faculty/staff parking. At my university, faculty and staff parking was specifically marked as such and differently from loading zones. I would guess that you're not allowed to park in the loading dock zone at any time unless you have specific authorization.

 

[Injury]

I think a lot of you guys are missing the statements about "long term parking is prohibited". A loading zone is for people who need to take groceries or something up to their room before parking their car a mile away, and the maximum time allowed in a loading zone is 30 minutes.

Simply put, he was allowed to park there as long as it didn't exceed 30 minutes.

He's saying he parked in a loading zone for 5 minutes.

Yes, parking services is fucking him over. It's not a matter of whether or not they did, it's a matter of what he can do about it NOW.


... and my suggestion is that you tell them you will appeal in person and then head over to your school's student legal services department and ask them if they can give you any help here. The worst they can say is no. If you can't get any help from student legal services, then at your appeal, before you say anything, tell them to explain to you what the "not in a space" and "dietrick" mean. If they say that it's some other lot/spot that you clearly weren't in, then you kind of have them by the balls.

Are you sure that the ticket has your license plate numbers and make/model of YOUR car? When I was living in dorms there were a bunch of people that would take their parking tickets and put them on the car next to them... you'd be surprised how often people would pay for tickets that weren't theirs because they didn't pay attention to the ticket. I guess most people just had enough of a guilty conscious that they just walked right over to the parking department and plopped the cash down. Parking never cared because they were getting paid.

The most important thing to remember is that these campus services are here FOR you, not to dick you over... and if you need to keep taking your appeal up the chain of command then don't stop. Personally, if I was the head of parking services and someone scheduled a meeting with me just to contest a $25-$50 parking ticket I'd almost have no choice to believe them if they went through that much effort.

 

[Gamingphreek]

Originally posted by: freesia39

Originally posted by: Gamingphreek

Originally posted by: freesia39

"Long term parking is prohibited at loading docks and other areas commonly used for loading. Thirty minutes is the maximum time allowed for loading and unloading... Authorization, recorded on the parking services green log sheet, can be obtained by calling Parking Services 8-5, M-F.

Resident permit holders may park in most faculty/staff areas near residence halls after 2:30PM on Fridays for loading and unloading."

Unless I'm reading this wrong:

1. You couldn't be parked in a loading zone unless you had authorization. It didn't sound like you had the required authorization.
2. You weren't in a faculty/staff area, you were in the loading zone, which is why you had the ticket. Are faculty/staff allowed to park in loading zones? Perhaps faculty/staff have designated spots closer to the building and you're allowed to park there after 230 on Fridays when most of them have already started to leave for the week?

This is why I always have someone in the car if I'm going to park it "illegally" for five mins so they can move the car when they spot parking enforcement. If there's no one with me, I'd rather search for a spot than risk a ticket.

Authorization is not necessary after 2:30PM on Fridays. Additionally, parking services is only open 8AM-5PM - after 5 the police can grant authorization; however, since it was a Friday it was not necessary for me to call.

I didn't have anyone with me at that time; however, I did leave the door cracked, the tail gate and camper shell open. I also left the lights on to signify that I was in fact unloading the car.

Faculty Staff are not allowed to park in the docks. Service vehicles are - and, according to the manual, Resident holders are allowed to within certain times for a maximum period of 30 minutes.

-Kevin

To make sure: Do you have a permit to park in that dorm?

Leaving the door open/lights on/shell open doesn't mean you're loading the car. It just means you know you shouldn't be there and will get cited anyways. There have been plenty of people who park in a loading zone and leave their lights on... and disappear for half an hour.

Since you say faculty/staff are not allowed to park in the loading dock, it appears that the argument about being allowed to park in faculty/staff areas near res halls after 230pm is moot, since they aren't allowed to park there in the first place.

If you want to see if you have a legal recourse, ask student legal services (if you have them) for help. They're low cost/free for students depending on the nature of the advice, but then thinking about that, they might not be able to help in you actions against the school.

Do you have anywhere in the manual that says authorization is NOT required after 230pm, other than the faculty/staff part?

What does the manual define as "certain times?"

I hope you see what I'm trying to do here - pick through the manual thoroughly, and not just find things that say "you can park after 230pm." I used to work for a university, and I could park in any lot after 4pm... except a couple of lots with restricted all day parking. If I didn't read that far, it would still be my fault for the ticket, even if there are no signs posted.

No that is absolutely fine - Thank you so much for helping me. Here is the entire manual text on this issue of unload/load:

Loading/Unloading
Long-term parking is prohibited at loading docks, and other areas commonly used for
loading. Thirty minutes is the maximum time allowed for loading and unloading. A
current Virginia Tech parking permit and prior authorization is required to use this
service. Authorization, recorded on the Parking Services green log sheet, can be
obtained by calling Parking Services 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday,
or the University Police Department at any time during the day or night. (We do not
green log in Owens or Dietrick Lots at all and we can not green log in Engel Lot after
4:30 p.m.) Please have your license plate and permit number available when you
call. After the vehicle has been loaded or unloaded, it should be moved to a legal
parking space. Vehicles in violation of this policy will be ticketed and/or towed at the
owners' expense. The policy is enforced 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Students, faculty, and staff who need to load/unload on a regular basis may have
their department request a Temporary Departmental Loading Permit. A Virginia Tech
parking permit must be displayed along with this permit. Request forms can be
obtained from Parking Services and should be filled out by the departmental liaison,
supervisor, or course advisor.
Resident permit holders may park in most faculty/staff areas near residence halls
after 2:30 p.m. on Fridays for loading and unloading. You are allowed to park for
maximum of 30 minutes without calling into Parking Services. However, Owens lot,
Dietrick Dining Hall lot are reserved exclusively for faculty and staff 24 hours a day,
seven days a week.

To me that says that I am, provided it isn't for long term, allowed to unload/load in the loading docks from the very first sentence. Additionally, at the very bottom, it then states that we are allowed to park for a maximum of 30 minutes without calling into Parking Services (They close at 5 so had I needed more than 30 minutes, I would have had to call the police department).

I have a Resident type Parking Permit which is displayed in the proper location (hanging from the mirror) in my car.

Additionally, though the ticket claims that I was in the restricted Dietrick Lot, I was not - that would not do any good for me to be parked in there - it simply doesn't make any sense. My rhetorical question would be "Why would I park illegally, further away from my dorm, when I could park legally (up to 30 minutes) right outside my dorm?"

Thanks so much guys - I appreciate the critique and any advice you can give.
-Kevin

 

[Injury]

Originally posted by: rudder
yeh I want to know what the ... contains. It sounds like he was parked illegally to me. From what I see you can park in the loading zone, but you have to get permission.

I looked it up... maybe they treat loading zones differently than what I thought.

edit: lol... posted while I was looking it up.

Long-term parking is prohibited at loading docks, and other areas commonly used for
loading. Thirty minutes is the maximum time allowed for loading and unloading. A
current Virginia Tech parking permit and prior authorization is required to use this
service. Authorization, recorded on the Parking Services green log sheet, can be
obtained by calling Parking Services 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday,
or the University Police Department at any time during the day or night. (We do not
green log in Owens or Dietrick Lots at all and we can not green log in Engel Lot after
4:30 p.m.) Please have your license plate and permit number available when you
call. After the vehicle has been loaded or unloaded, it should be moved to a legal
parking space. Vehicles in violation of this policy will be ticketed and/or towed at the
owners' expense. The policy is enforced 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

 

[Gamingphreek]

Originally posted by: Injury
I think a lot of you guys are missing the statements about "long term parking is prohibited". A loading zone is for people who need to take groceries or something up to their room before parking their car a mile away, and the maximum time allowed in a loading zone is 30 minutes.

Simply put, he was allowed to park there as long as it didn't exceed 30 minutes.

He's saying he parked in a loading zone for 5 minutes.

Yes, parking services is fucking him over. It's not a matter of whether or not they did, it's a matter of what he can do about it NOW.


... and my suggestion is that you tell them you will appeal in person and then head over to your school's student legal services department and ask them if they can give you any help here. The worst they can say is no. If you can't get any help from student legal services, then at your appeal, before you say anything, tell them to explain to you what the "not in a space" and "dietrick" mean. If they say that it's some other lot/spot that you clearly weren't in, then you kind of have them by the balls.

Are you sure that the ticket has your license plate numbers and make/model of YOUR car? When I was living in dorms there were a bunch of people that would take their parking tickets and put them on the car next to them... you'd be surprised how often people would pay for tickets that weren't theirs because they didn't pay attention to the ticket. I guess most people just had enough of a guilty conscious that they just walked right over to the parking department and plopped the cash down. Parking never cared because they were getting paid.

The most important thing to remember is that these campus services are here FOR you, not to dick you over... and if you need to keep taking your appeal up the chain of command then don't stop. Personally, if I was the head of parking services and someone scheduled a meeting with me just to contest a $25-$50 parking ticket I'd almost have no choice to believe them if they went through that much effort.

Thats what I was getting at - unless I am drastically misunderstanding something.

The ticket has my exact make and model and license plate on it.

Additionally, this is not the worst that has happened to me. Last time was 100x worse - if it comes to legal issue, I will bring up last time. I can explain it here if that would help at all (It occurred ~1 year ago).

-Kevin

 

[leftyman]

how much is the ticket?

 

[jonks]

why do such horrible things happen to good people?

 

[Baked]

Except you weren't loading/unloading anything. You're being lazy and got tagged for violating parking rules. Pay the fine and stop being a dbag next time.

 

[effowe]

Originally posted by: Baked
Except you weren't loading/unloading anything. You're being lazy and got tagged for violating parking rules. Pay the fine and stop being a dbag next time.

Originally posted by: Gamingphreek
Authorization is not necessary after 2:30PM on Fridays. Additionally, parking services is only open 8AM-5PM - after 5 the police can grant authorization; however, since it was a Friday it was not necessary for me to call.

I didn't have anyone with me at that time; however, I did leave the door cracked, the tail gate and camper shell open. I also left the lights on to signify that I was in fact unloading the car.

Faculty Staff are not allowed to park in the docks. Service vehicles are - and, according to the manual, Resident holders are allowed to within certain times for a maximum period of 30 minutes.

-Kevin

 

[shopbruin]

Loading/Unloading
Long-term parking is prohibited at loading docks, and other areas commonly used for
loading. Thirty minutes is the maximum time allowed for loading and unloading. A
current Virginia Tech parking permit and prior authorization is required to use this
service. Authorization, recorded on the Parking Services green log sheet, can be
obtained by calling Parking Services 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday,
or the University Police Department at any time during the day or night. (We do not
green log in Owens or Dietrick Lots at all and we can not green log in Engel Lot after
4:30 p.m.) Please have your license plate and permit number available when you
call. After the vehicle has been loaded or unloaded, it should be moved to a legal
parking space. Vehicles in violation of this policy will be ticketed and/or towed at the
owners' expense. The policy is enforced 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Students, faculty, and staff who need to load/unload on a regular basis may have
their department request a Temporary Departmental Loading Permit. A Virginia Tech
parking permit must be displayed along with this permit. Request forms can be
obtained from Parking Services and should be filled out by the departmental liaison,
supervisor, or course advisor.

Allright this part sounds like you need authorization to park in a loading zone, so by this alone, you're kinda screwed.

Resident permit holders may park in most faculty/staff areas near residence halls
after 2:30 p.m. on Fridays for loading and unloading. You are allowed to park for
maximum of 30 minutes without calling into Parking Services. However, Owens lot,
Dietrick Dining Hall lot are reserved exclusively for faculty and staff 24 hours a day,
seven days a week.

Yes, you don't need authorization, but it had to be in the faculty/staff area for less than 30 minutes, and you were in the loading zone, so that doesn't apply either.

If you want to argue it, you can try saying you were cited for being in the Dietrick lot, but you were NOT in that lot. That is probably your best shot.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Originally posted by: freesia39

Loading/Unloading
Long-term parking is prohibited at loading docks, and other areas commonly used for
loading. Thirty minutes is the maximum time allowed for loading and unloading. A
current Virginia Tech parking permit and prior authorization is required to use this
service. Authorization, recorded on the Parking Services green log sheet, can be
obtained by calling Parking Services 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday,
or the University Police Department at any time during the day or night. (We do not
green log in Owens or Dietrick Lots at all and we can not green log in Engel Lot after
4:30 p.m.) Please have your license plate and permit number available when you
call. After the vehicle has been loaded or unloaded, it should be moved to a legal
parking space. Vehicles in violation of this policy will be ticketed and/or towed at the
owners' expense. The policy is enforced 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Students, faculty, and staff who need to load/unload on a regular basis may have
their department request a Temporary Departmental Loading Permit. A Virginia Tech
parking permit must be displayed along with this permit. Request forms can be
obtained from Parking Services and should be filled out by the departmental liaison,
supervisor, or course advisor.

Allright this part sounds like you need authorization to park in a loading zone, so by this alone, you're kinda screwed.

Resident permit holders may park in most faculty/staff areas near residence halls
after 2:30 p.m. on Fridays for loading and unloading. You are allowed to park for
maximum of 30 minutes without calling into Parking Services. However, Owens lot,
Dietrick Dining Hall lot are reserved exclusively for faculty and staff 24 hours a day,
seven days a week.

Yes, you don't need authorization, but it had to be in the faculty/staff area for less than 30 minutes, and you were in the loading zone, so that doesn't apply either.

If you want to argue it, you can try saying you were cited for being in the Dietrick lot, but you were NOT in that lot. That is probably your best shot.

You will need to prove you were not in that lot.

Security camera?

and prior authorization is required to use this service.

You had not prior authorization - in Deetrick or not, you were at fault