County Board members on Saturday (Dec. 14) rebuffed a staff-proposed increase in trespass-towing fees across Arlington, opting to keep the base rate at $135 for passenger vehicles.
At the same time, Board members followed a staff recommendation in rejecting — for now — a “second-signature” requirement before any tows can occur.
Board members also showed interest in, but took no action on, a potential grace period before tows could take place from private lots.
They did approve a new permitting system for tow operators, which will go into effect in March.
“We’re going to try and make it work better,” Board Chairman Libby Garvey said of towing, long a contentious issue in one of the nation’s most compact counties.
Both county staff and the government’s Trespass Towing Advisory Board (TTAB) had recommended increasing the base towing fee from $135 to $150 for vehicles under 7,500 pounds. But Board members said no, for the time being.
“We really need to see the improvement in customer service,” Board member Takis Karantonis said, intimating county leaders could revisit the proposal in 2025.
Board members also rejected a staff proposal to incorporate, in the county’s towing ordinance, a $20 fuel surcharge mandated by the General Assembly.
But since that surcharge — running through mid-2025 — is already is part of state law, towing companies can collect it regardless of whether it is in the county code, local officials said.
As part of the package adopted Dec. 14 after a one-month deferral, Board members agreed with staff that the “drop fee” for vehicles that had been hooked up but not yet taken off the property should increase from $10 to $20, effective March 1.
Board members also agreed with the staff position that having a property owner or agent provide real-time authorization for towing is not, for now, desirable.
That so-called second-signature requirement, while allowed under state law, is strenuously opposed by business organizations such as the Arlington Chamber of Commerce and Apartment and Office Building Association of Metro Washington. A survey conducted by the county government of towing issues found widespread opposition to it, staff told elected officials.
David Kennedy, the citizen representative and chair of the county government’s Trespass Towing Advisory Committee (TTAB), said imposing such a requirement would bring dangers.
“The property owner is put on the spot,” he told Board members. “In a tense situation with the tow, these could be violent.”
Kennedy used the Dec. 14 meeting to again encourage Board members to increase the allowed fee for immobilizing (“booting”) vehicles from the current $25 to between $75 and $95.
Given the current fee, booting is not a viable option for towing companies in Arlington, and opposition by county leaders is something “I can’t quite get my head around,” Kennedy said.
Given the choice between towing and immobilization, “I would prefer the boot — less wear and tear on my car,” Kennedy said.
The county attorney’s office contends Virginia localities do not have the power to raise the immobilization fee beyond $10, even though neighboring Fairfax County has it set at $75.
The relevant Code of Virginia section at the heart of the issue says:
“The charge 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 set by ordinance.”
Queried several months ago whether Arlington’s legal staff had checked with their Fairfax counterparts on their interpretation of the law, County Board member Matt de Ferranti — the Board’s point person on towing issues — told ARLnow they had not.
Another proposal by Kennedy, to create a grace period of five to 10 minutes before a tow could be initiated, was put to the side by Board members, because the county attorney could not answer at the meeting whether Virginia local governments had that authority.
Even if they do have the power to require a waiting period, “it would be very difficult to enforce,” Karantonis said.
De Ferranti held out the possibility that the grace period could be revisited in 2025.
“It is one I want to work on and think through,” he said.
To align the local ordinance with recent changes in state law, Board members approved a requirement that those otherwise legally parked in lots of garages multi-family residential buildings would receive 48 hours’ advance warning before being towed for having expired or missing registration or inspection stickers.
Despite some bad apples in Arlington’s towing industry in past years, the TTAB chairman said those operating today are reputable and perform a needed service.
“They’re good folk,” Kennedy said. “They’re just trying to run a business that needs to operate in the county — probably less popular than the IRS, but we need them.”
Garvey, participating in one of her last Board meetings before leaving office Dec. 31, held the same sentiment.
“We’ve got to have towing,” she said.
