Township Passes Anti-Predatory Towing Ordinance

After a few rounds of debate over implementing a revised vehicle towing ordinance in town, the Township Committee voted on Tuesday to pass an amended ordinance with more stringent towing requirements.

The NJ state Predatory Towing Prevention Act (passed in 2007) was amended in 2009 to allow municipalities to set their own towing regulations. The revised ordinance passed on Tuesday states, "The Bernards Police Department has received numerous complaints regarding the towing of motor vehicles from commercial private properties through the township, which included complaints against excessive fees, requiring payment in cash, limited times available to retrieve the vehicle, not knowing where vehicle is towed, and damage to the vehicle."

To amend the towing problems, the new ordinance sets stricter requirements for obtaining permission to tow, and places regulations on fee amounts and storage practices.

Under the law, only those registered with the township (to be completed annually with a $150 processing fee) will be allowed to tow. The towing companies must also provide information about the location and security of their vehicle storage sites as part of the application, as well as proof of adequate liability coverage.

As for the practice of towing, no vehicles will be allowed to be towed from private property unless the towing company is registered with the township, the owner of the property authorizes the towing, and the property where the vehicle is parked is clearly marked with a sign no smaller than 36x36 inches that states when parking is permitted or not permitted.

The new law also sets fee limits for towing companies at $100 for the basic towing fee, $30 for administrative fee, $35 per day for inside storage, $25 per day for outside storage and $25 for a decoupling fee.

One change from previous iterations of the towing ordinance is that the property owner does not need to be present at the time of removal, as long as the owner authorizes the towing company to remove the vehicle and notifies the police department about the operation. Township attorney John Belardo met with representatives of the shopping plazas in town about the proposed ordinance over fears that the new ordinance would be impractical and cause delays if store owners had to be present when vehicles were towed.

Belardo told the Township Committee that all of the concerns were addressed to satisfaction, and the committee voted unanimously to pass the ordinance.