of arlington Trespass Towing Advisory Board (TTAB) considers that in some cases “booting” illegally parked vehicles may be preferable to towing them.

It seems that the members of the Provincial Board of Directors do not agree with this opinion.

Despite the unanimous recommendation of TTAB members, elected officials are not making any plans on this issue. change county code Giving towing companies a greater financial incentive to immobilize or load vehicles rather than towing them.

“Right now, there is no incentive to boot, there is an incentive to tow,” TTAB president and community representative David Kennedy said at the Oct. 19 County Board meeting.

Why? Current county code caps the boot fee at $25 compared to $135 (presumably will increase soon) for a tow.

“This is absolutely unreasonable,” said Al Leach of Al’s Towing & Storage Inc., the TTAB’s industry representative.

Leach was speaking in front of that corpse 3 October meetingThere, he, Kennedy and the organization’s third member, Detective James Tuomey of the Arlington County Police Department, voted unanimously to ask elected leaders to raise the maximum rate for boots.

But sometime between the Oct. 3 TTAB meeting and the Oct. 19 County Board meeting, County Attorney MinhChou Corr told elected officials that his office interpreted state law to limit boot fees to no more than $25.

From the relevant Virginia Code section (§46.2-1231):

“The fee for the removal of any device used to immobilize a trespassing vehicle shall not exceed $25 or such other limit as the governing body of the county, city, or town may prescribe by ordinance.”

Corr seems to perceive this language as an absolute upper limit of $25. That’s not the conclusion reached by neighboring Fairfax County; It allows towing companies to collect $75 plus a state-mandated surcharge for removing boats, apparently reading state code language as allowing localities to set the fee as they deem reasonable.

Matt de Ferranti, the County Board’s liaison to the Trespass Towing Advisory Board, told ARLnow that Arlington officials have reached out to their counterparts in Fairfax County to understand their interpretation of the law.

When asked whether the state government had investigated from the State Corporation Commission (SCC) or the office of Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, which has some authority to interpret state laws, de Ferranti said no such investigation had been conducted.

“The board is not interested in reaching out to the SCC or the Attorney General,” he said. “The board is pleased with the guidance our own counsel has provided us.”

As a result, Provincial Board members did not include TTAB’s request to increase the opening fee in the decision. Announced a public hearing on November 16 About revisions to local towing regulations.

This was a disappointment for Kennedy, whose job at the TTAB was to represent the public’s interests. Allowing tow operators to charge a higher cost to boot would actually help consumers, he told Board members.

“I would rather put the trunk on the rear wheel or the front wheel than have it towed,” he told Board members.

At the Oct. 3 meeting, Tuomey said he believes preloading as an alternative to towing will be beneficial to consumers. He said it would be easier to determine whether immobilization was appropriate because the vehicle was not removed from the scene.

“I think this will actually reduce predatory behavior by tow truck companies,” Tuomey said.

While there won’t be any vehicles on the streets of Arlington in the near future, tow companies that contract to enforce parking regulations at the Pentagon have plenty of opportunities there.

“We’ve been relieving colonels all day long,” Leach said.

He said the Pentagon had to pay $115 to have the luggage removed.