Towing Issues: Colorado private property towing, puc office, colorado puc

Question
I am a manager at a colorado Springs apartment complex. I have several cars towed daily at this complex. I towed a vehichle that was parked in a fire lane but was not marked by signs but is marked in red paint. The tenant that was towed has now filed a law suit against my company. Is it legal to tow anything on private property? is it up to management to determine what is parking and what is not?

Answer
Well Colorado does have regulations for towing and they are controlled by the Colorado PUC office...

here is a link to the PUC office rules regarding towing and such, and you will find the rules in there but its part of the way into the section. (its 93 pages long)

http://www.dora.state.co.us/puc/rules/723-6.pdf


Fire lanes tend to generate a lot of tows and a lot of problems, as they are sometimes not marked with signs but red curbs such as in your case.
But in most cases they also have "FIRE LANE" painted beside the curb at times, in addition to signs.

Now as to the court case, which is very typical as people hate being towed and they think they were wronged even if they only parked for a minute or 2 there.
But for the court case, make sure you have copies of your city and state laws regarding fire lanes, make sure you have complied with any laws for signs and such.
And are your parking policies spelled out in the rental agreements clearly, as that will be a key also.

And if you do not do it, start taking pictures of the vehicle in violation. Digital is great, and if you can get a camera which places a date and time on the image then you are way ahead of the game.

Now as to what is parking or not, then you as the property owner have the rights to determine what parking you want. If you decide that on Tuesday only green Ford Pinto station wagons are allowed then that is the rule if it is in the agreement.


hope this helps