Chapter
32
TOWING
FROM PRIVATE PROPERTY[1]
Sec.
32-1. Definition.
For the purposes of this chapter,
"private towing carrier" means any person who commercially offers
services to tow, transport, immobilize or impound motor vehicles from private
property without the prior permission of the owner or operator of such vehicle
by means or use of a truck or other vehicle or device designed for or adopted
to that purpose.
(Code
1967, 33A-1; Ord. No. 2009.11, 5-28-09)
Sec. 32-2. Maximum charges and fees; release of vehicles.
(a) No
private towing carrier shall hold or attempt to hold any vehicle towed from any
location within the city without the consent of the owner or operator thereof
as security for accrued towing and storage charges. Any such vehicle shall be immediately
released, regardless of impound location, to the owner or operator thereof upon
the production of proof of ownership or agency, as hereinafter defined.
(b) For
the purposes of subsection (a), proof of ownership or agency shall be deemed
proven when the claimant displays an actual or photocopy of a vehicle
registration or title, whether current or not, or a current rental or lease
agreement for the impounded vehicle and one of the following is provided:
(1) The claimant of the vehicle displays a
driver's license or any government piece of photographic identification,
whether current or not, issued by any state or other sovereign empowered to
issue such a license or identification, such license indicating the same last
name as that in which the vehicle is registered; or
(2) The claimant displays any piece of
photographic identification issued by any state or other sovereign empowered to
issue such a license or identification and the keys to the impounded vehicle.
(c) The
private towing carrier, its agents and employees shall allow the claimant
immediately upon request to retrieve any of the documentation listed in
subsection (b) from the impounded vehicle.
(d) Pursuant
to A.R.S. § 9-499.05 and this chapter, private towing carriers within this city
shall be subject to such maximum charges and fees as the council shall establish
by resolution (see Appendix A) at least every five (5) years. A private towing carrier is subject to such
maximum charges and fees and other regulations established in this section if
the vehicle being towed, transported, immobilized or impounded is towed from
private property located within the corporate limits of this city. No fees other than those specified in
Appendix A shall be permitted.
(e) A
private towing carrier may require a claimant to provide a current address and
telephone number to assist such private towing carrier's billing and collection
process. A private towing carrier shall
provide the claimant with information showing the private towing carrier’s
billing and collection procedures. This
document shall contain no promissory note language. No private towing carrier may require as a
condition precedent to the release of any vehicle documentation or proof in
excess of or different than that described in subsections (b) and (f) of this
section.
(f) A
private towing carrier may require any claimant to sign a receipt for the
vehicle claimed; however, such receipt shall contain no language other than the
following:
(1) The name and address of the claimant;
(2) The name, address and letterhead of the
private towing carrier;
(3) The date and time at which the vehicle was
claimed;
(4) A description, including the license
number, of the claimed vehicle; and
(5) A statement of the unpaid balance, if any.
(g) Notwithstanding
any of the foregoing provisions, no private towing carrier shall release any
vehicle after having been advised by any law enforcement agency that such
vehicle has been reported as stolen.
(h) A private towing carrier shall release an
impounded vehicle from the location where the claimant is directed by signs,
pursuant to § 32-6, to retrieve the vehicle. The vehicle shall be released at
(1) the time the towing and impound fee is paid or (2) proof of ownership is
provided pursuant to subsection (a). A
private towing carrier shall be deemed to be operating business and required to
release vehicles if they are towing or impounding vehicles.
(i) The private towing carrier shall post a
sign with a minimum one inch lettering with the maximum charges and fees as
established by council resolution (see Appendix A) at the main business entry
of the impound location.
(j) A private towing carrier shall post signs
visible to customers at the location of payment no smaller than twelve (12)
inches by eighteen (18) inches at their place of business with the following
information:
(1) Tempe City Code Sections 32-1 through 32-10;
(2) A list of specific fees authorized by Tempe
City Code, including towing fees, storage fees and any other charges that could
result from the disposition of the vehicle; and
(3) Name of private towing carrier, responsible
party and business telephone number.
(k) A private towing carrier shall accept
credit and debit card payments for all listed fees. There shall be no additional charges for such
payment methods.
(Code 1967, § 33A-2; Ord. No. 999.2, § 1,
1-24-85; Ord. No. 2006.77, 1-4-07; Ord. No. 2009.11, 5-28-09)
State law reference—Authority to regulate maximum rates of
towing motor vehicles from private property, A.R.S. § 9-499.05.
Sec. 32-3. Repealed.
(Code
1967, § 33A-3; Ord. No. 2006.77, 1-4-07)
Sec. 32-4. Notice to police.
No private towing carrier shall tow,
immobilize or transport any vehicle without the express permission of the owner
thereof, unless the private towing carrier has notified the city police
department prior to towing, immobilizing or transporting the vehicle and
provided the following information:
(1) The name and address of the owner of the
vehicle, if known;
(2) The
vehicle license number, vehicle identification number (VIN) and description;
(3) The reason the vehicle was moved or
immobilized without the owner's permission;
(4) The
location where the vehicle was immobilized or taken; and
(5) The name and drivers license number of the
person that towed or immobilized the vehicle and the name and address of the company
that towed, immobilized or transported the vehicle.
(Code
1967, § 33A-4; Ord. No. 2006.77, 1-4-07; Ord. No. 2009.11, 5-28-09)
Sec. 32-5. Authority to tow.
(a) It
shall be unlawful for a private towing carrier to tow or transport a motor
vehicle from private property or immobilize a vehicle on private property without
the permission of the owner or operator of the vehicle unless such private
towing carrier receives a request from a law enforcement agency or the express
written permission from the owner of the property or the agent of the owner,
who has complied with requirements of this section. The owner or the owner’s agent shall either
sign each towing order or authorize the tow by a written contract which is
valid for a specific length of time not to exceed one year. The private towing
carrier may not act as the agent of the owner.
A copy of the written contract shall be made readily available to the
law enforcement agency upon request and include the owner’s or owner’s agent
name and current telephone numbers.
(b) A
private towing carrier shall only be authorized to tow or transport a motor
vehicle from the tow location to the carrier’s designated lot.
(Code
1967, § 33A-5; Ord. No. 2006.77, 1-4-07; Ord. No. 2009.11, 5-28-09)
Sec. 32-6. Notice to public of right to tow.
(a) The
owner or person in possession of any private parking area shall be deemed to
have given consent to unrestricted parking by the general public in such
parking area unless such parking area is posted with signs as prescribed by
this section which are clearly visible and readable from any point within the
parking area and at all points of entry.
The owner of a subdivision or area containing private streets may
prohibit parking on one or both sides of the street if signs as prescribed by
this section are posted at each entrance to the subdivision or area and near
every intersecting street at a location where the sign is visible and readable
upon entry to any such street from the intersecting street. Such signs shall contain, at a minimum, the
following information:
(1) Restrictions on parking;
(2) Disposition of vehicles found in violation
of parking restrictions;
(3) Maximum cost to the violator, including
storage fees and any other charges that could result from the disposition of
his vehicle parked in violation of parking restrictions;
(4) Telephone number and address where the
violator can retrieve his vehicle; and
(5) Each sign shall state, "Tempe City
Code, Section 32-6."
(b) Signs at the entrance of the parking area will
be a minimum of twelve (12) inches by eighteen (18) inches in size and will be
mounted at a minimum height of three (3) feet and a maximum height of ten (10)
feet above the ground. Signs within the
parking area will be a minimum of six (6) inches by nine (9) inches in size and
must be visible from any location within the parking area. All signs pursuant to this subsection shall
consist of a white background with red lettering.
(c) No
private towing carrier shall tow a vehicle from a private parking area or
immobilize the vehicle unless the signs conform with and are posted as required
by this section.
(d)
This
section shall not apply to any vehicle left in a private parking area for over seventy-two
(72) consecutive hours. The owner or
person in possession of any private parking area in which a vehicle has been
left for over seventy-two (72) consecutive hours shall comply with § 32-4
provisions of this chapter before towing or immobilizing such vehicle.
(Code
1967, § 33A-6; Ord. No. 992.3, 3-28-85; Ord. No. 2006.77, 1-4-07; Ord. No.
2009.11, 5‑28-09)
Sec. 32-7. Charging excess fees.
(a) No
private towing carrier shall charge any fee or charge in excess of those
established by resolution enacted pursuant to this chapter.
(b) Ignorance
of the maximum charge or fee established by council resolution shall not be a
defense in any prosecution brought under this chapter.
(c) No
private towing carrier shall charge for or seek compensation for any service
not specifically listed or set forth in a resolution enacted pursuant to this
chapter.
(Code
1967, § 33A-7; Ord. No. 2006.77, 1-4-07)
Sec. 32-8. Service calls.
For the purposes of this chapter and of
any resolution adopted pursuant to § 32-2, the phrase "service call not
resulting in the towing of a vehicle" shall mean any occurrence or set of
circumstances wherein the vehicle subject to towing has not been removed from
the property upon which such vehicle was unlawfully or improperly parked prior
to demand for the release of such vehicle by the owner or operator thereof. If the driver or owner of the vehicle returns
prior to the removal of the vehicle from the property, the private tow carrier
shall release the vehicle and no fee shall be charged.
(Code
1967, § 3A-9; Ord. No. 2006.77, 1-4-07)
Sec.
32-9. Application of law.
A
private towing carrier is subject to the provisions of this chapter if it tows,
immobilizes or transports a vehicle within the city limits regardless of the
impound location.
(Ord. No. 2009.11, 5-28-09)
Sec. 32-10. Violation; penalties.
Violations of this chapter shall be
punishable as set forth in § 1-7 of this code, except for violations of § 32-5,
which shall be subject to a minimum civil fine/penalty of two hundred fifty
dollars ($250) and a maximum civil fine/penalty of one thousand dollars
($1000).
(Code
1967, § 33A-10; Ord. No. 992.2, § 1, 1-24-85; Ord. No. 2001.17, 7-26-01; Ord.
No. 2006.77, 1-4-07; Ord. No. 2009.11, 5-28-09)