Dear County Council Members

 

Maryland has more than 6700 association communities.  This number grows every year.  Association boards have the fiduciary responsibility to maintain property value, implement fair rules and regulations, while adhering to the hierarchy of the law (federal, state, county)  as well as their community bylaws and governing documents.

Unfortunately many association boards in Prince George’s County are untrained.  Therefore rules and regulations made many years ago, might be discriminatory and even against the law.  These rules and regulations can also be severely enforced causing hardship on those struggling to make ends meet.

Many of us enjoy association living, while those in neighboring communities  (and even our own) are dealing with unfair policy enforcement.

I live in a community that’s 3.5 miles from the nearest Metro station.  Yet we have 24/7 parking surveillance for unauthorized vehicles.  There have been more than 80 vehicles towed within a month from my neighborhood.  The majority of these tows were parking permit related.   Visitors and workers cannot secure a parking permit during the day, because the security guard who patrols the community is never at his booth.

So when people park, he identifies the cars parked without a permit or an expiring one, then calls the towing company to collect said vehicles.

When I purchased my home 17 years ago, I was not aware 8 years later my vehicles would be at risk of towing for an expired temporary parking pass, delinquency with parking rights revoked for homeowners and their guests, or for not displaying a community parking permit.

We are law abiding citizen who pay taxes and association monthly assessments.

On October 19, 2017 at 11:30 pm my car was towed from its reserved parking space for an “Expired Parking Permit” that had not expired.  This was an illegal tow.

Many of my neighbors and their guests have been towed.  The majority of them don’t even know if they have been towed illegally.  The law requires someone with authority to be physically present to sign the tow slips between 6:01 am – 8:59 pm.  I have never seen any driver stop after hooking a vehicle to its truck.

Informers cannot be used to identify cars for towing.  That’s against the law, yet it is happening.

When I asked the towing company for evidence of my tow, I was told that information was only available if I was taking them to court.  This is against the law.  PG County towing code states that a photograph shall be available for inspection by any interested party for a period of at least one (1) year. A copy of the photograph shall be provided to the vehicle owner upon request.

In 2015, Montgomery County passed new towing laws to address the needs of their homeowners living in association communities. These laws specifically addressed private property towing in HOA and Condo communities.

Montgomery County doesn’t permit tow truck drivers to monitor commercial parking lots between 9:01 am – 1:59 am for the sole purpose of towing cars.  Yet Prince Georges County allows this kind of predatory prowling in residential communities.

The people of Prince George’s County deserve to be treated with the same dignity and respect as those living in association communities in Montgomery County.  Towing laws that benefits the towing companies should not be embraced in Prince George’s County while in a neighboring county it’s deem illegal.

We need our elected officials to amend or adopt towing codes/laws that will protect the lifestyle, investment, and peace of mind of homeowners living in association communities.  We support legal towing (parking in someone else’s reserved parking space, parking in a fire lane, blocking a fire hydrant, etc.).

Being towed for a community parking pass, is a little extreme when a 48 hour warning is more appropriate.

SENATE BILL 401 states that a tow driver:
“17 (9) MAY NOT TOW A VEHICLE SOLELY FOR A VIOLATION OF FAILURE TO DISPLAY A VALID CURRENT REGISTRATION UNDER § 13–411 OF THIS ARTICLE UNTIL 72 HOURS AFTER A NOTICE OF VIOLATION IS PLACED ON THE VEHICLE.”  Yet, in Prince George’s County, a resident can be towed (in an association) for not displaying a community parking permit, without ANY warning.

We need change, and we need it now.   Thank you for your attention to this matter, and for helping to make Prince George’s County a better place to live.

Sincerely,

SJ Burns, MSS

Citizen Against Aggressive and Illegal Towing in HOA and CONDO Associations