FAYETTEVILLE -- It won't cost more than $40 to have a wheel clamp removed from your car in the city, a judge ruled this week.
Hawkeye Towing Enforcement owners appealed the validity of the city's ordinance in Washington County Circuit Court. A Hawkeye representative told the City Council last year $40 per car isn't enough to cover the company's staff and expenses.
Circuit Judge Joanna Taylor ruled from the bench Feb. 11 the ordinance limiting the amount companies can charge has a reasonable and rational basis and the ordinance is valid and constitutional.
Taylor also upheld the required 15-minute response time to remove the device as well as a requirement all employees pass a criminal background check. Taylor's order was filed Thursday.
"We're happy it went forward," City Attorney Kit Williams said Friday. "We feel like we had plenty of good reason to do this."
Council members unanimously approved the booting law in September after reviewing hundreds of complaints from residents and visitors.
Most of the complaints came from drivers whose cars were booted in private lots on and near Dickson Street. Many complained of excessive fees and rude behavior by company employees. Removal fees were often more than $100, which city officials said was unreasonable.
Jeff Klundt, an owner of Hawkeye Parking Enforcement, didn't return a phone message left after 5 p.m. Friday. Neither did Bill Putman, a Fayetteville attorney representing the Dallas-based company.
Private lot owners must post signs identifying a lot as a pay-to-park lot and must list the booting company's name, address and phone number on the sign. All workers are required to wear a company uniform, display photo ID and provide receipts under the ordinance.
Arkansas Act 1364 of 2013 granted cities the power to regulate the use of wheel boots, also known as wheel clamps, by ordinance. Fayetteville has separate regulations for towing.
Fayetteville doesn't boot cars parked in municipal lots or in numbered spaces along Dickson Street. Tickets there are $15.
Hawkeye patrols lots next to the Fayetteville Depot building, the Campus Bookstore and Clubhaus Fitness, all along Dickson Street; and the lot across Mountain Street from the John Paul Hammerschmidt Federal Building.
NW News on 02/22/2014