Commissioners approve amended towing ordinance after heated public hearing and legal objections
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Summary
Bowling Green commissioners approved an amended ordinance on towing and private-parking fee/signage rules after extended public comment and legal warnings from a local towing company owner; opponents called the measure unconstitutional and warned of litigation.
Bowling Green commissioners on March 3 approved Ordinance BG2026-3, a second-reading amendment to Chapter 15 of the city code addressing towing or immobilization signage and fee limits in private parking lots, after an extended public hearing with multiple opponents urging the commission to vote no.
The ordinance was presented as a binding second reading; after public comment the commission took a roll-call vote and commissioners recorded unanimous approval. Mayor Alcott led the proceeding and presided over the hearing.
Speakers at the public hearing included business owners and towing-industry representatives who said the changes would be unlawful or would encourage parking conflicts. Alan Simpson told the commission: "What you're about to do ... sounds like, is illegal. It is unconstitutional." He said the only lawful way to regulate prices, in his view, would be through an exclusive franchise and said he expected court challenges. Simpson also said his firm filed an amended complaint and that the city attorney had accepted service.
Slim Nash, who identified himself as owner of Fountain Square Towing, criticized the process and urged commissioners not to pass the ordinance. "The ordinance that you are proposing to pass this evening, I believe, is illegal," Nash said, adding he felt targeted and recounting regulatory interactions with city staff. He also said his company had been threatened and that he had faced enforcement actions for paperwork errors.
A downtown business owner, Heather Kessler, urged the commission to address "predatory" towing practices that, she said, deter customers from visiting downtown. "Yes, there is a time and place for towing," Kessler said. "I am anti the predatory nature of the towing that I have witnessed."
Commissioners permitted several speakers to use up to five minutes; staff and the city attorney were on the dais to receive public comment. After remarks concluded, the commission conducted a roll call and approved the ordinance on its second reading.
The hearing record shows opponents threatened litigation and alleged an Open Meetings Act violation related to prior discussion of the ordinance; one speaker said an amended complaint had been filed. The commission did not take further public rebuttal on the record before voting. The ordinance's text as discussed would set standards for signage and fee limits in private parking lots; the final ordinance language approved in the meeting packet was recorded as an amended second reading.
The action closes the matter for this meeting; the ordinance will take effect as provided in the city's code. The commission signaled it will go into the previously announced closed session later in the evening.
