Town passes new towing ordinance

After months of debate, the Chapel Hill Town Council approved a revised towing ordinance Monday night that will provide clearer guidelines for downtown visitors.

In response to a rising number of complaints about aggressive towing practices in downtown Chapel Hill, the council passed several revisions to the 2008 towing ordinance.

The revised ordinance includes an increase in sign regulations and a requirement that towing companies accept alternative forms of payment.

The council also approved increasing parking fees from $100 to $125.
The ordinance will give the council the authority to adjust fee limits that would apply to private towing companies each year.
The revisions to the ordinance will go into effect May 1.

Several residents and visitors to Chapel Hill have expressed support for the revised ordinance.

Michael Dorsey, a resident of Chatham County, said he was towed from Jimmy John’s on Friday night after he went for a walk following dinner at the restaurant.

Dorsey said he believed he was in accordance with the ordinance because he had dinner at the restaurant, but the towing company said the towing was legitimate because he left the property.

“The man from the tow company showed the video of us leaving the property to the police, but not the video of us going in to Jimmy John’s,” he said. “Not only that, but the man only accepted cash, he had no business card and gave no way to follow up.”

Dorsey said the amendments to the ordinance will make towing policy clearer.

“I think the new tow ordinance is a step in the right direction. It will help, but I think it needs to go further,” he said. “Towing companies need to provide full disclosure of who owns and operates the company and how they can be contacted.”

UNC student Kelly Tessitore said she supports the part of the ordinance that limits the distance of towing lots to no more than 15 miles from Chapel Hill town limits.

She said she was with a friend whose car was towed from the Panera Bread lot last April.
To retrieve the car, she said they got a ride to the towing company’s storage lot in rural Durham, 25 minutes from campus.

“The lot was really dark, and not well lit at all,” she said. “The whole thing was kind of sketchy, and it just didn’t feel safe.”

Tessitore said another promising revision is the increase in required signs at every third parking space.

“We didn’t see a sign when we parked,” she said. “We went back to look for one later and could only find one in the whole parking lot, and it was nowhere near our parking space.”

But despite residents’ support, some towing companies said the ordinance is unnecessary.

“The problems with this ordinance that we see are there are an excessive amount of signs,” said Tom Stark, a lawyer representing George’s Towing and Recovery.

Stark said towing companies are also worried about the fee limits affect on business.

“We believe this ordinance goes beyond what Chapel Hill has the authority to do,” he said.

He said he thinks the ordinance does not address the town’s parking shortage, which he said is the crux of the problem.

“This ordinance is an outgrowth of public frustration at lack of parking in downtown Chapel Hill,” he said.

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