Woman says red zone painted after she parked in San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Ever feel like you were wrongly accused of something? That's how a woman in San Francisco feels after she got a ticket for parking in a red zone, which she says wasn't there when she parked her car.

RELATED: Stanford student creates bot to defend parking tickets

The story begins July 11 when Rebecca Derenthal put her car on Franklin Street near Lombard Street in a legal parking space.

"I parked there because it was not red," she said.

Derenthal, who lives nearby, also has a city parking permit. So she could park on the spot longer than the two hour limit.

She was going on a business trip. When she came back five days later she says, "I came out and saw a red zone violation on my car."

Her parking space had been painted red while she was away. In photos she shared with us you can still see the fresh paint on leaves and litter in the gutter.

The crew was nice enough to paint around her tire.

RELATED: Technology could help solve SF parking woes

But she still received a $110 ticket for a red zone violation.

She called it "ridiculous."

So Derenthal protested by going to the SFMTA's website. She appealed the citation.

"They basically just said the protest was denied and I still had to pay the fine," she said.

ABC7 News went to SFMTA spokesman Paul Rose, who confirmed the space was painted red when the car was parked.

RELATED: Mystery envelopes filled with money spotted around SF

But he says Derenthal was cited not for the red zone, but because she parked in that spot too long.

"According to the California vehicle code, you can't park in the same location for more than 72 hours," he said.

But her ticket says "red zone" violation.

"She did protest the citation," said Rose. "She was told her protest was denied for these reasons."

But nowhere in the rejection letter, which she got from the SFMTA after her appeal, does it mention a 72 hour parking violation

Derenthal tells us she'll appeal again, this time in person.