(A) It shall be unlawful to charge for the removal of any motor vehicle from commercial property without authorization from the owner of the motor vehicle or of the city, except under the following circumstances.
(1) The property owner has posted the property with signs. Each sign face shall be at least six square feet.
(2) The posted signs where in place, clearly visible and legible to any driver approaching any point of ingress to the property where parking is prohibited or restricted at the time the vehicle was parked.
(3) The posted signs contain a clear warning that violators’ vehicles will be towed, at the vehicle owner’s expense, the telephone number to call and the address where release of the towed vehicle may be obtained.
(4) All signage must be approved by the Zoning Administrator.
(5) The signage requirements in this chapter are exempt from the requirements for signage contained in the city Zoning Ordinance.
(B) The owner of the vehicle towed from commercially zoned private property shall be responsible for paying all applicable towing and storage charges provided that the private property owner has complied with all of the requirements contained in division (A) above. If a vehicle is towed as a result of a property owner’s request and the property owner has not complied with the requirements of division (A) above, or if the vehicle is shown to have been legally parked, the property owner shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and may, in the discretion of the municipal judge as provided in S.C. Code § 14-25-75, be subject to reimburse the owner of the vehicle for all towing and storage charges which the owner of the vehicle paid.
(C) Before towing a vehicle from commercially zoned private property without authorization from the vehicle owner, the tow truck operator shall obtain from the property owner a written authorization which shall set forth the name and signature of the property owner, unless, such authorization has been previously filed pursuant to § 116.03(A)(8).
(D) Any towing carrier performing a non-consensual tow, shall, within 30 minutes of the removal, telephone the Police Department to verbally report the tow by providing the applicable information on the tow record/invoice form described in § 116.04. Any towing operator which fails to give such notice within one hour of the time the vehicle was towed shall not be entitled to any compensation for the towing and storing operation and shall deliver it upon request.
(E) There shall be no towing from public property unless authorized by the Director of Public Safety or his or her designee.
(F) In the event there is a dispute between the booting operator and the owner of the vehicle, either party may request a court date to resolve the dispute.
(Ord. 12-09, passed 8-25-09) Penalty, see § 10.99