Heather Birch bought a town house in the East End in July that came with off-street parking in a private lot.

She soon discovered that others also liked to park on the gravel lot behind her three-story brick home.

Ms. Birch, 36, a counselor for Mercy Behavioral Health in West View, learned the trespassers were attending services at the Mt. Ararat Baptist Church, just up the street at 271 Paulson Ave.

The church, a landmark in the Larimer neighborhood, has Bible study on Tuesday and services on Saturday evening and Sunday morning and early afternoon. The building also houses the Early Childhood Development Center, which is open from 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays.

Ms. Birch said her parking problem has gotten worse in recent weeks.

She returned home from a New Year's Eve church service and wasn't able to park behind her house because the lot was clogged with cars that were double-parked.

"My repeated calls to the church have fallen on deaf ears," she said. "I realize that the church has one of the biggest memberships in the area and that parking is at a premium for its members. However, when I have to go to work or do errands, it is distressing to not be able to get out of the lot or into the lot upon my return.

"I am asking that the parishioners who park their cars in the lot to have some compassion on the homeowners who live there. After all, this is a private parking lot. My only recourse is to call the police. As a Christian, I am reticent to do that."

I visited the parking lot behind Ms. Birch's home on Monday afternoon. I was surprised to see a large Ford van with the church's name on it parked directly in front of a No Parking sign. The name of Pastor William H. Curtis was prominently displayed on both front doors.

Although there was an open parking space on Paulson Avenue in front of the church, someone had illegally parked the van in a private lot in open defiance of the No Parking sign. The sign, one of three prominently displayed in the lot, warns violators that the lot is private property and that they'll have to pay if United Towing hauls away their cars.

As I walked along the streets near the church, it became apparent that Ms. Birch's parking problem isn't an isolated case. A 20-car asphalt parking lot at the corner of Ashley and Mayflower streets has a faded No Parking sign attached to a chain link fence. It warns trespassers that they park at their own risk and that the owner of the lot isn't responsible for "loss, damage or towing of vehicle."

A two-story house across the street protects its parking spaces beside the house with several traffic cones. A traffic cone sat on the front porch of the house next door. I also saw traffic cones in front of - or on the front porches of - several homes on Auburn and Mayflower streets. There were No Parking signs posted on garage doors and fences on Tyler Way.

When I entered the church, a custodian directed me to the administrative offices on the lower level. Roland Woods, the front-office manager, said he shared Ms. Birch's frustration over parishioners who park in her lot.

"We have a 1,200-member congregation, many of whom live in Penn Hills, and parking is a problem.

"We have taken just about every measure we can think of to inform, alert and warn parishioners not to park in private lots," he said. "We emphasize it from the pulpit and in our weekly newsletter. It's unfortunate that some haven't followed those instructions."

Mr. Woods said some parishioners whose cars have been towed have asked the church to reimburse them for the towing fees.

"We've told them that there isn't any way we can do that."

He said the church's red van shouldn't have been left in the private parking lot and would be moved.

The Rev. Benjamin Calvert, executive pastor of the church, said he understands Ms. Birch's exasperation with the illegal parkers.

"It's just common sense," he said. "No parking means no parking. If some people insist on parking where they're not supposed to, they should expect the consequences.

"I will stand behind her in any action she decides to take, including the ticketing and towing of illegally parked cars. We have a great relationship with our neighbors and we don't want to jeopardize it."

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