[Added 1-19-1993; amended 3-4-1996; 11-5-2001]
[Amended 6-2-2025 by Order No. 2025-84]
In order to protect persons who operate motor vehicles within the City limits, to ensure that the streets, public ways, and public property remain open and free of hazard to the public, and to further effectuate the efficient enforcement of the City's traffic, parking, snow removal, and other ordinances, it is necessary to license and regulate those businesses providing vehicle wrecker or towing services at the request or direction of the City and when towing without the express knowledge or consent of the vehicle owner or their authorized representative.
[Amended 4-4-2016 by Ord. No. 2016-22; 6-2-2025 by Order No. 2025-84]
In addition to the words elsewhere defined in the Code of the City of Westbrook, the following terms shall have the meaning ascribed thereto, unless otherwise indicated:
HOOKED or HOOKED UP
When a wrecker has attached the vehicle to the wrecker by chains or by hook, or some other similar physical connection that must be detached before the vehicle can move, regardless of whether it has been lifted or moved.
PERMANENT PLACE OF BUSINESS
Any building or permanently affixed structure which is owned or held under a lease or ascertainable rental agreement at the time the business is commenced, and which, for the purposes of this article, is used in whole or in part for the purpose of engaging in vehicle towing.
POLICE TOWING LIST
A list maintained by the Police Department, containing the names of wreckers licensed by the City to respond to police requests for vehicle towing.
WRECKER
A business engaged in, or offering the services of, a vehicle wrecker, tow truck or carrier, whereby motor vehicles are or may be towed or otherwise removed from one place to another by the use of a motor vehicle specifically adapted to and designed for that purpose.
[Amended 11-25-2002;6-2-2025 by Order No. 2025-84]
No towing or wrecker service shall tow any vehicle in the City without the express knowledge or consent of the vehicle owner or their authorized representative or at the request and direction of the City without first having obtained a license per the requirements set forth in Article I of this chapter.
[Amended 6-2-2025 by Order No. 2025-84]
Applications for the towing license shall be procured from the City Clerk's office, completed and signed by the applicant, and filed with the Clerk. The following shall be submitted with the application:
A. 
Proof that the applicant is a legally organized business. This may include copies of deeds, leases, rental agreements, and Assessor's records; business filings with the Secretary of State; addresses shown on federal and state tax filings; copies of insurance coverage for the premises and for the employees therein; advertising; and motor vehicle registrations;
B. 
Evidence that each applicant owns/leases and operates its own wrecker(s). A copy of any tow vehicle registration, title and lease, where applicable, shall accompany the application;
C. 
Evidence that the wrecker maintains a safe and legal storage facility for those vehicles towed;
D. 
Evidence that the wrecker maintains satisfactory levels of insurance to satisfy claims arising out of the towing or storage of motor vehicles;
E. 
Copy of driver's license of all employees operating wreckers in response to calls from Westbrook Police Department.
F. 
The applicant shall indicate on the license application if they wish to be included on the Police Towing List, subject to compliance with the requirements and conditions set forth in § 205-78.
Required certificates of insurance, vehicle(s) title/lease and registration and required evidence of business organization shall be submitted with the required application as set forth in Article I of this chapter. The inspecting officers shall investigate the applicant's compliance with the minimum regulations for wreckers and compliance with Chapter 335, Land Use, of the City Code.
[Amended 4-22-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-68; 6-2-2025 by Order No. 2025-84]
The municipal officers, in addition to other provisions of this code authorizing such action, may deny, suspend, or revoke a license upon stipulations set forth in § 205-8 as well as any of the following grounds:
A. 
The wrecker has violated any of the requirements set forth herein.
B. 
The applicant's business otherwise has been the source of consumer complaints.
C. 
Conviction of crime under the following standards:
(1) 
Conviction for one misdemeanor for a theft-related offense, applicant is ineligible for five years.
(2) 
Conviction for one misdemeanor for a driving-related offense, applicant is ineligible for five years.
(3) 
Conviction for two misdemeanors for a theft-related offense, applicant is ineligible for 10 years from conviction date of most recent offense.
(4) 
Conviction for two misdemeanors for a driving-related offense, applicant is ineligible for 10 years from conviction date of most recent offense.
(5) 
Conviction of any felony-related crime, including theft- and driving-related offenses, applicant is permanently ineligible.
[Amended 6-2-2025 by Order No. 2025-84]
The following minimum regulations must be met on a continuous basis:
A. 
Each registrant shall be a legally organized business, having a place of business, i.e., an office located in a conforming zoning district or operating as a legal nonconforming use under Chapter 335, Land Use, of the City Code, from which the business and wrecker vehicle operate, and having a storage location for all vehicles towed by that company which also must be within 10 air miles of 570 Main Street.
B. 
Each registrant shall own/lease and operate its own wrecker(s), which for the purposes of this article must be used exclusively by the licensed wrecker business. The registrant shall supply the Chief of Police such other evidence as they shall require that demonstrates that the wrecker vehicle will be used exclusively by that single wrecker business.
C. 
Insurance.
(1) 
Each wrecker business shall maintain its own separate insurance coverage for place of business, storage facility, wrecker vehicles, and employees, indicating the following coverages:
(a) 
Garage keeper's policy. Covering fire, theft, windstorm, vandalism, and explosion, in the amount of at least $35,000.
(b) 
Garage keeper's liability policy. Covering the operation of the applicant's business, equipment, and vehicles for any bodily injury or property damage. This policy shall be in the minimum single limit amount of $100,000.
(c) 
Road service liability. Covering the lifting, hoisting, and towing of vehicles in the minimum amount of $35,000.
(2) 
Each policy shall contain an endorsement by the carrier providing 30 days' notice to the City in the event of any change in coverage.
D. 
Each wrecker shall maintain such records as may be required by the Chief of Police and shall permit their inspection during normal business hours.
E. 
Each wrecker shall permit the Chief of Police or his designee to conduct regular inspections of each towing vehicle and each storage area during normal business hours.
F. 
Vehicles must be towed, not driven, to the designated storage facility.
G. 
Each wrecker vehicle used in conjunction with this article shall be permanently lettered with the company name and phone number of the licensed wrecker business.
H. 
Any changes in insurance coverage, tow vehicles, storage location, or employees shall be reported to the City Clerk within five days of the change. A copy of any new employee's driver's license must accompany the notice.
I. 
The following additional conditions must be met by any towing or wrecker service intending to be included on the Police Towing List:
(1) 
The wrecker and its employees or agents shall be available on a twenty-four-hour, 365-day-per-year basis to ensure that towed vehicles may be released within one hour of demand by the owner who can pay all required fees.
(2) 
Each licensee agrees that it will defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the City, its officers and employees from all claims for damages, including the reasonable cost of defense and attorneys' fees resulting from the towing or storage of vehicles under this article.
(3) 
Licensees shall arrive at the scene with 30 minutes (or as soon as practical given weather and road conditions) of receipt of a request for service from the Police Department.
(4) 
At the request of the police, a wrecker business shall clean the accident area of any debris resulting from the accident.
[Amended 6-2-2025 by Order No. 2025-84]
A. 
Those wreckers that have been licensed by the municipal officers, have indicated that they wish to be placed on the Police Towing List, and have demonstrated that they have met all conditions and requirements set forth in § 205-78 shall be utilized in those instances in which a vehicle is to be towed from a public way or public property or from any private property at the request or direction of the City. Each wrecker business shall maintain a separate telephone number that may be used by the Police Department when selecting a wrecker and at which the vehicle owner can contact the wrecker business to secure the return of their vehicle.
B. 
When a request for vehicle towing is received at the Police Department, the dispatcher shall select the name of the wrecker which next succeeds the last wrecker called for towing services. Such wrecker selections shall proceed in a rotating manner until the end of the list is reached, at which point wreckers shall again be selected from the top of the list, consecutively.
C. 
In the event that a wrecker does not respond to a phone call from the Police Department or otherwise does not respond to the scene in a timely manner, the next name on the Towing List shall be called. Then, should more than one wrecker respond to the scene, the last one called from the Police Department shall be entitled to the tow. Any wrecker called shall not be called again until its name next appears in the rotation.
D. 
Those wreckers who operate more than one towing vehicle shall be selected only once during each rotation of the Towing List. The ownership and payment of fees for additional tow vehicles shall not entitle the wrecker company to additional positions on the Police Towing List.
E. 
No tow truck, wrecker, or carrier used by one wrecker business to respond to police requests for towing may be used by any other registrant in connection with the Police Towing List, irrespective of any business organization, lease/title, vehicle registration, or other agreement by which registrants might otherwise share the use of a wrecker vehicle.
F. 
In the event that a vehicle owner or operator requests a wrecker of his/her own preference, the Police Department will attempt to secure the services of the wrecker chosen, provided it is duly licensed and is able to respond quickly if circumstances demand it. In the event that the vehicle owner or operator selects their own wrecker, then the Police Towing List shall be disregarded, and the rotation shall remain unchanged.
G. 
The Chief of Police or designee may select a wrecker that does not appear in the Police Towing List sequence when required by the exigent circumstances surrounding vehicle removal or the need for special equipment and procedures.
[Amended 6-2-2025 by Order No. 2025-84]
A. 
No wrecker shall respond to the scene of an accident or other emergency unless specifically called there by the Westbrook Police Department dispatcher or the owner or operator of the vehicle involved. No wrecker, agent or employee shall solicit towing contracts at the scene. However, nothing in this article shall be construed as prohibiting a towing service from privately contracting with any person.
[Amended 6-2-2025 by Order No. 2025-84]
Notwithstanding the procedures set forth herein, nothing in this article, or in the towing regulations previously in effect, creates a vested or exclusive right to be called or selected for a towing operation requested by an employee or official of the City. Nothing in the provisions contained herein is designed or intended to restrain the course of free trade or to restrict the number of qualified licensees on the Police Towing List.
[Amended 3-3-2025 by Order No. 2025-39; 6-2-2025 by Order No. 2025-84]
A. 
The Chief of Police is authorized to remove a wrecker from the Police Towing List or otherwise suspend the privileges accorded hereby upon finding one of the following:
(1) 
That the towing license was secured by fraud or by concealment of a material fact by the wrecker owner and such fact, if known, would have cause disqualification;
(2) 
That the wrecker owner has violated any of the ongoing requirements established herein;
(3) 
That the City is not satisfied with the general services of the wrecker or its employees, or with the cooperation received when services are rendered, or the business otherwise has been the source of consumer complaints;
(4) 
That the wrecker has repeatedly (i.e., more than once) failed to respond to a call for service from the Police Department.
[Added 6-2-2025 by Order No. 2025-84]
A. 
Once a wrecker has hooked a vehicle to the wrecker, a vehicle owner or their representative may take possession of their vehicle if the wrecker has not started to leave the scene with the vehicle, provided that the owner or authorized representative pays the on-site release fee found in Chapter A400, Master Fee Schedule. Upon payment, the wrecker shall release the vehicle.
B. 
No towing fee shall be charged if the vehicle owner or authorized representative arrives to move the vehicle prior to the wrecker hooking up to the vehicle.
C. 
In the case of a vehicle tow requested by the Police Department, the wrecker shall not lose its place in rotation on the Police Towing List if the tow is either cancelled or if the owner retrieves their vehicle prior to tow.
[Amended 6-2-2025 by Order No. 2025-84]
A. 
As an express condition of licensure, each wrecker shall charge no more than the fees found in Chapter A400, Master Fee Schedule, for any tow without the express knowledge or consent of the vehicle owner or their authorized representative and for tows generated at the request of the Police Department.
B. 
Any vehicle towed to a location other than the storage or impound lots indicated on the wrecker license application at the request of the vehicle owner or authorized representative may be charged additional fees as negotiated prior to the tow.
C. 
The schedule of fees shall not be modified except by action of the City Council.