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CITY ATTORNEY OPINION
REGARDING TOWING
In a recent
newsletter I raised concerns about the apparent loss of owners' rights
under the new towing law and directed readers to the bill's sponsor, Los Angeles City Attorney
Rocky
Delgadillo, for assistance. His office was kind enough to send me a letter in response.
City Attorneys' Opinion. As chief sponsor of the new law, the City
Attorney does not believe that owners have lost any rights. His
office believes that owners can
immediately tow vehicles by simply calling a tow company and signing an
authorization, provided the owner's parking space is (i) a designated space, and
(ii) proper signs are located at all entrances to the property. See
City
Attorney's letter.
 Designated
Spaces? Unfortunately, the letter does not define "designated" parking. Does
this mean parking designated in the association's records? Or does it mean
that parking spaces, driveways, and private garages must be painted and/or
have signs "designating" them as reserved?
Entrance Signs? The second point
involves signs at the entrances. Are owners required to use the association's towing company
(because it's on the entrance signs) or can owners call their own tow companies?
I suspect owners will be restricted to the company on the signs.
Rights Lost. If the association
has no signs, are owners precluded from towing scofflaws from their parking
spaces? The letter seemed emphatic that owners can only tow if there are
signs at the entrances. As a result, this precludes all owners in non-gated communities from
towing (since these communities generally do not have tow signs at their entrances).
It
also takes away the rights of owners in associations where boards use fines rather than towing for
enforcement.
Finally, the new
law grants towing rights only to those owners in associations with 15 or
fewer units. Owners in associations with more than 15 units must call an agent
of the association. On weekends and evenings (when staff is not around and most violations occur),
owners will be forced to endure illegal parking. This particular restriction is contained in
a half-page, run-on sentence found in
Vehicle Code 22658(l)(1)(A)
NOTE: We
will seek further clarification from the City Attorney. One important
caveat, a court may not agree with the City's opinion. To paraphrase Proverbs
25:2, "It is the glory
of legislators to conceal a thing: but the honor of judges is to search out a
matter."
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Sincerely
yours,
Adrian
J. Adams, Esq.
ADAMS & KESSLER LLP |
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