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Council debates ordinance to let police and parking authority ticket and tow construction vehicles with commercial features
Summary
An ordinance would give police the ability to summons and tow vehicles used for commercial construction parked in residential districts — targeting ladder racks, signage, visible construction materials and (proposed) trailers — after council members described registration and insurance‑fraud concerns.
Councilman Silva introduced an ordinance to amend traffic rules so that City enforcement can ticket and tow construction‑related vehicles parked in residential districts. "Anything that has a ladder rack, anything that has signage on the side, anything that has construction material that leads us to believe that it is being used for commercial purposes can now be issued a summons and towed," Silva said.
Supporters said many vehicles appear commercial but remain registered on passenger plates, which limits Newark Police's ability to issue summonses. "These vans are committing both insurance fraud and registration fraud," Councilman Kelly said, describing a situation where commercial fleets use residential streets for overnight parking. Council members asked staff to consider adding attached trailers and hitches to the ordinance text because long trailers occupy parking spaces and can accumulate debris.
Council members urged coordination with Newark Police Division and the parking authority to ensure enforcement is effective; no final adoption vote is recorded in the transcript segment.
