Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 14, 1993 TAG: 9301140148
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: MICHAEL STOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
SPEAKERS ASSAIL TOWN'S PROPOSED TOWING-SIGN LAW
A proposed ordinance that would require a "conspicuous sign" on every commercial parking place where towing is enforced was widely criticized at Tuesday's Blacksburg Town Council meeting.Ten citizens spoke against the ordinance, telling the council that new signs would be unsightly and costly for business owners to purchase and maintain.
"I can't understand an ordinance that would favor someone who is parking illegally," said Ernestine Foresman, owner of Raines Real Estate, which rents spaces in its Progress Street Parking lot.
After hearing the residents' concerns, council voted to table the ordinance and discuss it at a meeting next month.
The towing ordinance was drafted after several citizens complained to the Town Council that AuTow Inc. removed their cars from parking lots that weren't clearly marked as tow zones
The ordinance would require a sign at least six inches square and at least four feet above the ground stating the days and hours that towing is enforced on all commercial spaces. It also would require apartment complexes to have signs at every entrance to its parking lot.
If passed, the ordinance also would end AuTow's policy of providing decals for customers and having the company's tow truck patrol its contracted spaces and remove vehicles without a sticker. Parking space owners would have to call the towing company each time they wanted a car removed.
Foresman said it would cost Raines $2,742 to put new signs on the 40 spaces in its lot.
"That parking lot is clearly marked," she said. It takes "only minimal intelligence to realize it's private property."
John Grasmeier with Raines Real Estate presented the council with a petition signed by more than 20 town business owners and managers opposed to the ordinance.
If apartment complexes only need signs at the parking lot entrances, then why can't businesses do the same, he asked.
Russell MacDonald, property manager for Townside Realtors, said it would be an inconvenience to have to call the towing company every time a car is illegally parked.
"We can't be out there 24 hours a day," he said. "We don't like towing, but we are trying to adjust to and regulate the problem of too few parking places and too many cars."
Blacksburg Mayor Roger Hedgepeth said Town Council will study the situation carefully before passing any towing ordinance.
"It is not our intention to infringe on anyone's rights or make them spend money unnecessarily," he said.