CHARLOTTE, N.C.,None — Thank you for participating in our survey. Proposed Towing Ordinance Gets Mixed Reviews Do you support the proposed towing ordinance? Yes, I think tougher rules should be in place. No, I think the rules are fine as they are.
Several tow truck workers spoke out against a proposed ordinance at a public meeting held Thursday, while several drivers applauded the city's efforts to stop what they called predatory towing.
The ordinance would require at least one employee at every Charlotte tow truck company to be on call around the clock, so that drivers could recover towed cars within one hour. Under the ordinance, tow truck drivers would be required to contact the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department before towing a vehicle and also get the property owner to sign off on each towing.
Doug Oates, the manager of N Style Towing, said the ordinance would send the wrong message to drivers.
"It's to benefit the people who are stealing parking, or who are parking somewhere they have no business parking," Oates said.
He wasn't alone in opposition to the proposed rules -- more than a dozen tow truck drivers spoke out against the possible changes.
Drivers, however, expressed a different sentiment. Dan Ballister, whose car was towed from a lot in Elizabeth earlier this year, said he supported the city's efforts to change towing rules.
"I think what I experienced was true predatory towing," he said. "They were waiting for people to park in there and leave their vehicles, and then swoop in and tow it. I never saw a sign."
The proposed changes include requiring signage at private lots to be a minimum of 2 feet by 2 feet.
"I don't care how big you make that sign -- people are going to say they still didn't see that sign," Oates said.
City leaders said they will take the public's suggestions under advisement and present a revised ordinance to the council's Community Safety Committee next month.
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