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<br />Council to vote on sending tetter
<br />By Zachary Clark
<br />DAILY J01WAL STAFF
<br />Att Assembly bill that seeks to endvehicle-
<br />towiag practices that disproportionately
<br />affect low-income people is set to be opposed
<br />by Redwood0ty officials because they say it
<br />rewards those whofail to pay parking tickets
<br />or otherwise follow reasonable policies and
<br />will worsen parking problems.
<br />Sponsored by Assemblyman David Chiu,
<br />See BILL, Page 11
<br />DSan Francisco, Assembly Bill 516 would
<br />specifically eliminate tows when the owner
<br />has five or more unpaid parking tickets,
<br />when the car registration is more than six
<br />months out of date or when a car has been
<br />legally parked for over 72 hours.
<br />°Faking a person's car away will only
<br />make a financial- situation worse, impede
<br />theirabifity to makea living andexacerbate
<br />our homelessness crisis," Chin said in a
<br />statement. "This bill protects Californians
<br />from the most towtn ran ices
<br />while so preserving local control that
<br />allows local sovemments to address unique
<br />needs in them communities."
<br />on y, t e edwood City Council
<br />will consider sending letters opposing the
<br />bill to state Sen. Jerry HE, D San Mateo, and Assemblyman Kevin Mullin, D-Sotah
<br />San Francisco. The item is on the consent
<br />agenda.
<br />Me approach in AB 516 rewards people
<br />who fail to pay their patking tickets, regis-
<br />ter their vehicles or adhere to reasonable
<br />policies aimed at preventing abandonment
<br />and/or street storage of vehicles, regardless
<br />Of income," according to the letter signed
<br />by Mayor Ian Bain. "Eliminating propor-
<br />tional consequences for these sorts o€vehi-
<br />cle violations will exacerbate parking
<br />scarcity by creating an environment viiner-
<br />a 'an. This bill, coupled
<br />with efforts by the stateaimed at eliminat-
<br />in Deal parking minimums, will create
<br />quality of life concerns acr ss income
<br />demographics in California."
<br />Jen KidtPl it itnications director for
<br />Chiu, said t e b- i, is` often misunderstood,
<br />especially e72�o rule.
<br />"Che bill es t make it legal to park
<br />somewhere _ ours, it just says towing
<br />shouldn't be the first response to someone
<br />parked illegally," she said. "Tickets would
<br />come- first and local governments would
<br />still have other mechanisms. You could
<br />have your license suspended, wages gar-
<br />nished, tax
<br />ar-nished,tax refunds intercepted - there're a
<br />lot of other stringent mechanisms that local
<br />government$ can use."
<br />A resapr r tonin thebillthatsaysif
<br />a local ordinance conflicts with the lawthen
<br />the local ordinance would take precedent
<br />,;s hexdded.,
<br />. atlt� w— e'r'e ry ng tosay is ablanket 72-
<br />hottr rule across the state doesn't. make
<br />sense when you look at how harshly rhes
<br />tows impact tow -income people and peopl
<br />who are housing insecure and might be
<br />using their vehicles as shelter,,, Kwart
<br />said
<br />In California, it typically costs a nuni-
<br />mum of $5010 to retrieve an impoundedcar
<br />and if the ear was towed to collect a debt
<br />swb-as unpaid parking tickets then owners
<br />have to pay those debts and cover daily
<br />vehicle storage fees which can approach
<br />$1,500 before they can get their car back,
<br />.accordin to release from Chic's
<br />tv en a car ownerisunabletoPay debts or
<br />towing fees then local governments and
<br />toting companies try to recover the debt by -
<br />s ng the carat alien safe, but thecosts of
<br />to stomge and lien sale fees are often far
<br />greater than the amount the vehicle is_sbld
<br />for -.cording to the release.
<br />This results in a no-win situation for all
<br />n }c% invo ve-. - e car owner as nsr
<br />/ It min's bill passes, Redwood City offi-
<br />cials anticipate an increase in thenumber of
<br />uninsured vehicles on the road and a result-
<br />ing rise in collisions with monsored dV
<br />ers, which would shift theecanomic bur°
<br />�m the Ficlezeommanity, according to
<br />ter. City officials atso anticipate an
<br />increase in the number of vehicles unable to
<br />meet state emission standards; which would
<br />contribute to poor air quality,. according to
<br />the letter. - - -
<br />Over the past decade, Redwood City has
<br />also experienced -a tenfold increase in
<br />reports of vehicles left on the road and
<br />Chic's bill would`only add to this growing
<br />problem and leave the city with few tools
<br />left to respond to the legitimate demands of
<br />its citizens," the letter states.
<br />In other business, the councilwill: vote
<br />on an attendance policy for its boards, com-
<br />mittees and comm fissions. At the last meet-
<br />ing, the proposed policy sparked a debate
<br />abommaternity leave, with Councilwoman
<br />Giselle Hate calling for up to six months of
<br />Ieave for new mothers. Some of her col-
<br />leagues felt sixmonthsis too long and ulti-
<br />mately agreed'to table the item for the
<br />upcoming meeting so Mayor Ian Bain, who
<br />was absent for the last meeting, can weigh
<br />in.
<br />Z Weekend . lune 22-23,2019
<br />The camicil will meet at 7 p.m. on
<br />M0714, 7tnae 24, at Citv Hail, located at
<br />1017 Middlefield Road.
<br />zachaty@sntdalwournzl coin
<br />(850) 344.5200 ext. 102
<br />
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