March 27, 1998

 To:East York Community Council

 From:Rick Tomaszewicz

Commissioner of Development Services

East York District

 Subject:Towing from Private Property Ward 1

  Purpose:

 To report to the April 1, 1998 East York Community Council in response to Councillor Howard Moscoe=s request that East York amend its Private Property Parking By-law to exclude towing by Municipal Law Enforcement Officers.

 Source of Funds:

 The proposed amendment has no budget impact.

 Recommendations:

 It is recommended that this report be received for information.

 Council Reference/Background/History:

 Councillor Howard Moscoe, in a letter to East York Community Council, dated February 3, 1998, requested that the East York by-law which regulates parking on private property be brought into conformity with the practices of North York, Toronto, (old city) and the former City of York. These districts do not allow persons, other than those employed by the Toronto Police Service, to tow vehicles from private property.

 East York Community Council requested that the Interim Functional Lead for By-law Enforcement and Licensing to report on potential amendments to the former Borough of East York By-law concerning towing from private property and on current statistics with respect to towing from private property from the East York community. Council also requested that the City Clerk notify all East York Businesses of any proposed changes to the By-law.

 In 1993 considerable concern was expressed about alleged abuses in the towing of vehicles parked on private property and about the involvement of Municipal Law Enforcement Officers (MLEO=s) in arranging for the tows. At that time an ad-hoc committee was established at the Metro level, to address the abuses that were being experienced in relation to the towing and impounding of vehicles. There were also efforts made to eliminate the differences in the Metro area municipal by-laws regulating parking on private property, the authority and activities of MLEO=s and the towing of illegally parked vehicles. However, these efforts were not successful, although Scarborough and East York did adopt new by-laws substantially identical to each other.

 In 1995, the City of Toronto amended its private/municipal property parking by-law to restrict MLEOs= authority to tow vehicles to those parked on municipal property. The Cities of North York and York do not expressly authorize the towing of vehicles by MLEO=s.

 Comments and/or Discussion and/or Justification:

 Former Borough of East York By-law No. 127-79, Section 4a) allows a Police Officer, Police Cadet or a Municipal Law Enforcement Officer, upon discovery of a motor vehicle parked or left contrary to Section 2 of the By-law, to cause such vehicle to be moved or taken to and placed or stored in a suitable place. Furthermore, the owner can be charged for removing, care, and storage of the vehicle and a lien can be placed upon the vehicle in the manner provided by the Repair and Storage Liens Act, R.S.O. 1990, Chapter r.25.

 Municipal Law Enforcement Officers are currently appointed by area municipalities only after receiving training from the Toronto Parking Enforcement Unit. It is these individuals who would be affected by the proposed changes to By-law 127-79. The change would only allow towing from private property to occur under Common Law. This would not allow a lien to be placed against a vehicle, thus making it easier for the owner of the vehicle to obtain his or her car from the impounding lot.

 By-law 127-79 limits the fine of the Parking Infraction Notice to $40.00 and stipulates that no vehicle shall be removed or impounded without there first having expired 30 minutes between the time of issuance of the ticket and the removal of the vehicle.

 To address concerns expressed by the community in response to the vigilant practises of some towing companies, the Borough of East York amended its By-law to appoint Municipal By-law Enforcement Officers in 1995 by adding the following new sections:

1. No person in their capacity as a Municipal By-law Enforcement Officer shall tow or authorize or supervise the towing of any vehicle while that person is in the employ of a person or company that is the operator or owner of the tow truck, that has caused such vehicle to be towed;

1. No Municipal Law Enforcement Officer nor any person or company employing Municipal Law Enforcement Officers shall require the payment of an administrative or any other fee by the owner of a vehicle which has been ticketed or towed or impounded;

1. No person shall carry out any of the duties of a Municipal Law Enforcement Officer pursuant to this by-law unless such Municipal Law Enforcement Officer is wearing a uniform, approved by the Chief of Police of the Metropolitan Police Force or his or her designate and, if travelling in a vehicle, is utilizing a vehicle with markings approved by the Chief of Police of the Metropolitan Toronto Police Force or his or her designate;

1. A Municipal Law Enforcement Officer may authorize the towing or impounding of a vehicle only if the provisions of the Borough of East York By-law No. 127-79, as amended, have been complied with.

These restrictions were introduced as a means of striking a balance between allowing MLEO=s to tow from private property and providing the owner of the vehicles parked on private property with adequate protection. Essentially this amendment prohibits MLEO=s from towing vehicles from private property without the presence of a Police Officer or Parking Enforcement Officer.

 Common Law towing does not require the presence of a Police Officer. The towing company may tow a vehicle at the request of the owner and are not required to notify the Police of where the vehicle has been towed.

 Statistics from the Toronto Police Service indicate that towing under Common Law is much more prevalent than towing under private property by-laws. For example, on a typical day this year, the Parking Enforcement Unit authorized the towing of 41 vehicles while towing companies (MLEO=s) towed 3 vehicles. During this same period, the Parking Enforcement Unit received notices from towing companies of 165 tows which took place under Common Law. This figure may under-count the actual number of Common Law tows because they not required to be reported to the police. Only one vehicle towed on this day was from the East York District. According the Parking Enforcement Unit - Towing, these statistics represent a typical day in Metro.

 Common Law towing is far more prevalent in Toronto than towing within the private parking by-laws of each area municipality. Towing under Common Law is not regulated by the municipality. The East York District has introduced by-law amendments which, while allowing towing by MLEO=s on private property, regulates when and how this towing can occur. As the above-noted statistics indicate, towing by MLEO=s in East York does not appear to be problematic.

 Given the minor amount of private property towing taking place by MLEO=s, and the 1995 amendments to the MLEO appointing by-law, which essentially limits towing from private property only in the presence of the Toronto Police, it is not recommended that East York=s private property parking by-law be amended at this time. Additionally, it would only be prudent to amend East York=s private property parking by-law as part of a comprehensive report, potentially to the Urban Environment and Development Committee. This would provide for a uniform by-law consistent across Toronto.

 Conclusions:

 In 1995, East York Council amended its private property parking by-law to further restrict the authority of MLEO=s to tow from private property, essentially only allowing towing to occur in the presence of a Police Officer or Certified Parking Officer. The current by-law strikes a reasonable balance between property owner=s rights to have illegally parked vehicles removed and a vehicles owner=s right for fair treatment for a brief violation of parking on someone else=s property.

 Statistics indicate that Common law towing is much more prevalent than towing under the private property parking by-law in East York. Since private property towing by MLEO=s does not appear to be problematic in East York, staff are of the opinion that a by-law amendment prohibiting this activity is not warranted at this time. It would be more prudent to consider a comprehensive private property parking by-law for all Toronto to ensure equitable private property parking tagging and towing procedures across the city.

  Contact Name:

Peter Bartos, P.Eng., Transportation Engineer

East York Civic Centre

778-2225

    Rick Tomaszewicz

Commissioner of Development Services