New towing policy does not end Allied controversy

The city has a new towing policy, one that has been in place for just a day. Not that either of those facts mean the Allied Towing controversy is near an end.

The part of the policy that most concerns both La Crosse's drivers and property owners: A vehicle cannot be towed from private property without a complaint from the property owner or someone specifically noted as the property manager.

It went into effect Wednesday, Assistant La Crosse Police Chief Tom Jacobs said.

Sgt. Bob Bott, who wrote the new policy, said the city already had policies in place concerning private property parking' but they "didn't get into the towing or any of that."

The matter of who calls in the complaint about a trespassing vehicle had never been such an issue until Allied Towing, a Winona, Minn.based company, expanded to La Crosse in June. Allied was hired by frustrated property owners - mostly in the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and downtown areas - to patrol their lots. Allied tow truck drivers would see trespassing ears, call the police , wait for someone to arrive with a ticket and then haul the vehicle away.

Several drivers claimed to have been towed by Allied after being parked illegally for less then 30 minutes, some from apartment buildings where they were visiting friends or a son or daughter.

"It's not that they don't deserve a penalty for parking in the wrong spot," said City Attorney Pat Houlihan. "It's how (Allied) is going about it." But Allied's methods have been popular with the owners of about 75 parking lot owners that have hired Allied. They say Allied's was the only solution that worked. La Crosse Common Council member and downtown resident John Satory, whose two personal parking spots are patrolled by Allied, said he can already tell a difference from 11 days ago, when the city halted Allied from towing cars on its own. "People have already started parking wherever they want," Satory said. "How would (city officials) like it if we parked in their driveway?"

But it doesn't appear Allied or property owners are backing down. Company President Bill Whetstone said Allied has added clients since the controversy went public. And Houlihan said Allied's attorney, Tom Kieffer of La Crosse, asked him whether Allied could get power of attorney from its clients and make the trespassing calls for them. Houlihan said no.

Whetstone released a statement Wednesday saying only that, "We think the city of La Crosse is a wonderful place to do business and we're going to continue to do so." For now, that means calling the owner, who must then call the police before a vehicle can be towed.

Copyright La Crosse Tribune Nov 13, 2003
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