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The Daily Tar Heel

Town Council to decide towing rules

A long-awaited answer to the town’s growing downtown parking and towing issue may be reached at Monday’s Chapel Hill Town Council meeting.

In recent months, the council has seen an increase in complaints from residents who say private companies are aggressively towing downtown lots through the use of video surveillance, among other issues.

After reviewing the problems, town staff devised a new ordinance that would set forth stricter guidelines for towing companies and lot owners to help alleviate those complaints.

The council is expected to review and vote on the ordinance tonight.

The ordinance would require towing lots to be located no more than 15 miles from the Chapel Hill town limits to counter resident complaints that those lots are too far away from the town.

Councilwoman Penny Rich said limiting the distance individuals must travel to retrieve their cars after being towed makes the process safer — especially for women.

“It was important that the council stepped in,” she said. “The citizens felt unsafe.”

Towing companies would also have to accept cash, credit or debit card payments instead of just cash.

The ordinance would require that one informational sign be located at every third parking space and that property owners explicitly state that vehicles will be towed when they leave the property.

Town Councilman Jim Ward said the new ordinance was hard to agree on, but he thinks it is a step in the right direction.

He said reaching a consensus on an appropriate signage requirement was challenging because signage hadn’t received much attention in the past.

But he said he thinks the new ordinance represents the needs of both residents and businesses as best as it can.

Rich said she thinks explicitly posting signs to show where individuals can and cannot park will also help to minimize towing incidents.

UNC sophomore Parker Ellis said he thinks if passed, the new parking ordinance will help alleviate an issue that has been highly controversial within the town.

“The new ordinance should help and make people happier,” he said. “With the town meeting, the long-term issues of towing may be finally resolved.”

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