Sherwood holds first hearing on proposed changes to ticketing and towing rules; council sets second hearing for April 1

The Sherwood City Council on March 18 held a first public hearing on Ordinance 2025-001, a proposed change to Sherwood Municipal Code sections 8.04 and 10.08 (and removal of section 9.6) that would update the city's ticketing and towing procedures, including new notice and hearing provisions and expanded immediate-tow circumstances.

City staff presented legal and operational reasons for the revisions. Sebastian (staff member) said the proposals were designed to reflect court guidance about due process and to add flexibility for the Sherwood Police Department and municipal court. “First and foremost is due process,” Sebastian said, noting the Fourteenth Amendment’s protections and adding that the draft code shortens the post-tow hearing timeline to three days to align with Oregon statute and court precedent.

The draft ordinance would: shorten the hearing-request deadline to three days; clarify long-term-street-parking stages before a tow (including written notices and staged administrative fees); add a “reoccurring offenses” provision allowing tow after two municipal judgments that remain unpaid following a hearing; expand the definition of hazardous conditions to allow immediate tow where a vehicle endangers public safety; explicitly permit certain tows on city-owned lots and rights-of-way; and create an administrative fee schedule (to come back to council at the next meeting).

Why it matters: staff said the changes aim to make Sherwood’s code defensible in court while preserving avenues for vehicle owners to contest a tow. Sebastian told the council the revisions include “reasonable efforts” requirements — for example, officers must try to identify and contact a listed legal driver before towing in arrest situations — and simplify release criteria so that owners or designated pick-ups can reclaim vehicles without having to first resolve all municipal fines.

Council and staff discussion focused on operational details: how many tows the city handles (staff estimated a “handful,” with most tows crash-related), how city practices interact with the county’s tow rotation and agreed tow-yard standards, the complaint-driven nature of long-term and stored-vehicle enforcement, and how notices and documentation will be tracked across shifts to prove a lawful tow if contested in court.

Public hearing and schedule: no members of the public signed up to testify at the March 18 hearing. The council closed the hearing and continued the item to the council’s April 1 meeting for further consideration; staff said the fee schedule for the new administrative fees will be returned to council at that hearing for review.

Councilors praised staff work but emphasized the ordinance is intended to provide tools for nuisance situations and to ensure compliance with state law and court precedent. No final vote was taken on March 18.

Looking ahead: the council will consider the ordinance and a separate proposed fee schedule at its April 1 meeting. If adopted, the ordinance would change several timing and notice requirements in Sherwood’s towing and municipal-penalty procedures.