The Ogden City council makes the following findings:
A. Existing practices associated with providing notice to vehicle owners and drivers that their vehicle may be towed from private property are inconsistent from property to property.
B. Parking disputes involve two (2) competing private property rights which should be balanced: the property rights of the landowner and of the vehicle owner.
C. Remedies available to an owner of real property exist at law for trespass damages. Removal and retention of another's vehicle for a transitory trespass and holding another's vehicle as security for payment of a disputed debt without aid of court order or judgment, are extraordinary self-help remedies. Use of such extraordinary self-help remedies should be limited to circumstances where unequivocal notice is given and reasonable and timely means of vehicle recovery are provided.
D. The inconvenience and cost to owners and drivers of vehicles that are towed from private property without the vehicle owner's or operator's consent is significant, especially when such removal can frequently be avoided with more consistent notice procedures.
E. Owners of private property should have the ability to adequately control access to, and use of their on site parking by members of the general public.
F. It is in the best interest of vehicle owners and operators and private property owners for uniform standards to be in place throughout the city to control the nonconsensual removal of vehicles from private property.
G. Owners and operators of vehicles that have been nonconsensually removed from private property should be treated fairly so that they can retrieve their vehicle promptly.
H. Current ordinances have proven inadequate to deal with problems posed by nonconsensual towing from private property.
I. The purpose of this article is to standardize notice requirements prior to a nonconsensual vehicle removal from private property, to balance the interests of vehicle owners and operators with the interests of private property owners, and to provide methods whereby towing and booting services are performed in a way that protects the interests of the public.
(Ord. 2016-35, 6-21-2016)