[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of
the City of Passaic as indicated in article histories. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 4-3-1985 by Ord. No. 850-85]
Any vehicle that is in violation of any parking
restriction at the curbside or in the municipal parking lot may be
subject to towing. The vehicle will be towed at the owner's expense
by the authorized municipal tower. All storage expenses will be the
responsibility of the owner.
Signs stating that the area is a towaway zone
will be placed to advise the motorists where the subject ordinance
is in effect.
[Adopted 8-7-2007 by Ord. No. 1731-07]
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
A person who engages in the business of transporting an operable
or inoperable motor vehicle from a public or private area to a site,
at the request of the vehicle owner or owner of property on which
the vehicle is located.
Any parking lot or area owned by a private entity that provides
parking spaces for a fee or requires the permission of the owner,
licensee or agent before a person may park at that location. A private
parking lot includes vehicle parking spaces in an apartment complex.
The towing or removal of a vehicle, without the consent of
the vehicle's owner or operator, that is parked on a private parking
lot without the property owner's agent's consent.
An operator who either responds to a call for
assistance from a motorist or property owner with an inoperable vehicle
or one improperly located on the property owner's property who offers
to transport, repair or store the vehicle, such operator shall comply
with any reasonable request to either repair the vehicle or transport
it to a site for storage pending release to the car's owner.
[Amended 9-22-2009 by Ord. No. 1809-09; 9-8-2015 by Ord. No. 2019-15; 10-8-2015 by Ord. No. 2024-15; 8-8-2017 by Ord. No.
2112-17; 2-6-2018 by Ord. No. 2143-18; 4-27-2023 by Ord. No. 2392-23; 5-23-2023 by Ord. No. 2397-23]
All property owners or motorists who require the services of
a private towing company shall pay not to exceed the following fees:
A.
Towing.
B.
Storage inside building or outside in secured facility, each space,
per day.
(1)
Cars/light trucks - 10-foot by 20-foot space: $35 per day.
(2)
Trucks (dual wheels)/single axle: $125 per day.
(3)
Motorcycles: $17.50 each space, per day.
(4)
Tractor/dump truck/tractor and trailer combo/trailers: $125 per unit
per day.
(5)
Buses: $150 per day.
(6)
Roll-off: $125 per day for each.
(7)
Cargo/accident debris/load storage/vehicle components 10-foot by
20-foot space: $50 per space used per day.
(8)
Rental of any tow company supplied trailer post incident: $500 per
day.
C.
Recovery/winching (in addition to towing - per truck including driver).
D.
Specialized recovery equipment.
(1)
Rotator/crane recovery unit: $1,200 per hour.
(2)
Tractor with landoll trailer or detach trailer: $500 per hour.
(3)
Tractor/transport hauler only: $350 per hour.
(4)
Refrigerated trailer with tractor: $550 per hour.
(5)
Box trailer with tractor: $500 per hour.
(6)
Air cushion unit: $1,000 per hour.
(7)
Light tower: $250 per hour.
(8)
Pallet jack: $200 flat rate.
(9)
Rollers: $200 flat rate.
(10)
Any other specialized equipment: $300 per hour.
(11)
Loader/backhoe/telescopic handler/bulldozer/bobcat: $400 per
hour each.
(12)
Forklift: $400 per hour.
(13)
Dump truck/dump trailer with tractor: $400 per hour.
(14)
Roll-off with container: $400 per hour plus disposal.
(15)
Recovery supervisor vehicle: $150 per hour.
(16)
Scene safety equipment, communication equipment, traffic management
equipment, etc.: $250 per hour each type used.
(17)
Recovery support vehicle/trailer additional recovery equipment:
$350 per hour.
E.
Labor. All labor minimum of one hour.
F.
Additional charges.
(1)
Fuel/Haz-Mat/cargo spills cleanup and disposal: time and material.
(2)
Haz-Mat and trash recovery: surcharged 10%.
(3)
Opening locked vehicle without key: $75 per vehicle.
(4)
Administrative charge only after third visit to vehicle: cars only:
$50.
(5)
Administration charge: medium/heavy truck: $200.
(6)
After hours release: $50.
(7)
Notification documentation fee: $75.
(8)
Tarping/wrapping vehicle: $90 per car, $250 per truck.
(9)
Fuel surcharge: 0%.
G.
A copy of this fee schedule shall be made available to the owner
of a vehicle at the time he or she obtains the required release paperwork
from the City of Passaic Police Department. After the first hour,
all hourly billable rates will be charged in half-hour increments.
Charges for all tows are inclusive of the operator. You may not separately
charge for an operator that drives/operates the towing equipment.
H.
The invoice must provide an itemized breakdown of fees, allowing
the vehicle owner to clearly understand the charges.
I.
If a vehicle is towed due to the tower's error, the individual
or entity whose vehicle was towed shall not be responsible for any
fees.
The following provisions shall apply to any
towing operator and/or booting service when engaged by the owner or
other person in control or possession of private property to remove
therefrom or boot an unauthorized vehicle, pursuant to the provision
of N.J.S.A. 39:4-56.6:
A.
No towing or booting service shall boot or conduct
a trespass tow of a vehicle from a private parking lot for compensation
when the point of origin of the boot or tow is within the jurisdictional
limits of the City of Passaic without complying with the provisions
of this article.
B.
Posting of warning signs. No person shall tow any
motor vehicle parked for an unauthorized purpose or during a time
at which such parking is not permitted from any privately owned parking
lot, from other private property or from any common driveway without
the consent of the motor vehicle owner or operator, unless:
[Amended 9-22-2009 by Ord. No. 1809-09]
(1)
The
person shall have entered into a contract for private property towing
with the owner or the property.
(2)
There
is posted, in a conspicuous place at all vehicular entrances to the
property which can be easily seen by the public, a sign no smaller
than 36 inches high and 36 inches wide stating:
(a)
The purpose or purposes for which parking is authorized and the times
during which such parking is permitted;
(b)
That unauthorized parking is prohibited and unauthorized motor vehicles
will be towed at the owner's expense;
(c)
The name, address and telephone number of the towing company that
will perform the towing;
(d)
The charges for the towing and storage of towed motor vehicles; and
(e)
The street address of the storage facility where the towed vehicles
can be redeemed after payment of the posted charges and the times
during which the vehicle may be redeemed.
(3)
The
property owner has authorized the person to remove the particular
motor vehicle.
(4)
The
person tows the motor vehicle to a secure storage facility.
C.
No towing or booting service operating within the
City shall tow or boot a vehicle or charge a fee for debooting or
decoupling the car from the tow truck or related services where the
registered owner or other legally authorized person in control of
the vehicle arrives at the scene prior to the car being booted or
the rowing of the vehicle from the lot, providing:
[Amended 9-22-2009 by Ord. No. 1809-09]
(1)
The owner or other legally authorized person in control
of the vehicle agrees to and immediately removes the vehicle from
the lot.
D.
No vehicles removed from private property shall be
stored on public property, including public streets.
E.
No vehicle shall be removed unless to a storage facility
located at a distance no greater than one mile from the municipal
boundaries of the City of Passaic. Tows of vehicles partially or completely
on public property must be directed by the Passaic Police Department,
and if any such tow occurs without police direction, the tower forfeits
their fees.
[Amended 5-23-2023 by Ord. No. 2397-23]
F.
No towing operator engaged by a private party shall
charge rates greater than those authorized by this article, nor shall
any charge be made for any service not specifically set forth in this
article.
G.
Whenever a vehicle is towed from private property,
the Police Department of the City shall be notified at the time of
the removal as to the reason for the towing, the year, make and license
number of the vehicle, the name and address of the owner, if known,
the name and address of the towing operator, the name and phone number
of the owner or designee of the owner of the property who authorized
the towing or booting and the address or location to which the vehicle
is being towed. The notice to the City Police Department does not
require the Police Department to respond to same or appear at the
scene of the towing.
[Amended 9-22-2009 by Ord. No. 1809-09]
H.
No towing
operator shall monitor, patrol or otherwise survey a private property
for the purposes of identifying vehicles parking for unauthorized
purposes and towing a motor vehicle parked for an unauthorized purpose
from such private property without having been specifically requested
to tow such vehicle by the owner of the property or his designee.
[Added 9-22-2009 by Ord. No. 1809-09]
[Added 5-23-2023 by Ord. No. 2397-23]
A.
The facility must be open for vehicle access, release and retrieval
from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. daily. Access shall further be made available
from 8:01 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., however, the tower may impose an additional
after-hours release charge of $50. No storage fee shall be charged
for holidays if vehicle retrieval is not allowed. If a person attempts
to retrieve their vehicle during the established hours, but the towing
company is unavailable for release, no additional storage fee shall
be charged for that day.
B.
Vehicles towed and stored for less than four hours during operating
business hours shall not be charged a storage fee for that day.
C.
Vehicles towed, stored, and released within a twenty-four-hour period
will only be charged a storage fee for one day.
