Chapel Hill will regain its ability to enforce two town ordinances — one banning cellphone use while driving and one enforcing restrictions on tow companies — after a court decision Tuesday.
The ordinances had been ruled invalid last year, but the North Carolina Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that it was within the town’s authority to enact them as part of its right to protect the safety and welfare of the public.
Both the cellphone ban and towing ordinance will be reinstated June 24.
While the court deferred a ruling on the legitimacy of the cellphone ban, it ruled the town could enforce it in the meantime.
The court also agreed the towing ordinance was within the town’s power.
“The ordinance was enacted to promote public safety and public welfare and we believe that was the basis of our authority to enact it,” said town attorney Ralph Karpinos.
The towing ordinance caps the amount tow companies can charge for their services and also requires companies to post more signs in parking lots — and to accept credit and debit cards as payment.
Chapel Hill Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt said he’s excited about the implementation of the towing ordinance.
“We wrote the ordinance to protect our citizens and visitors from predatory towing,” Kleinschmidt said. “Towing complaints have been one of the most frequent and persistent complaints I’ve heard from citizens, particularly in our downtown.”
