Towing Issues: Sign just put in and I got towed., private property owner, california vehicle code

Question
Hi,
I parked my car in the spot I usually park it in without
noticing that a new sign had gone up stating that I could
not park there. When I got back to my car I found it on the
back of a flatbed (it's an automatic and the car was locked
with the e-brake on and the transmission in park). I spoke
to the towing agent and was able to get my car back (after
paying a hefty sum). My question is how long a sign needs
to be in place in california before a car gets towed? Wouldn't
I need to get a ticket or some type of warning first? It turns
out I wasn't the only person that was getting towed as a
small group of people were begging the towing company to
leave their cars. Is there anything I can do in this situation?
Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

P.S. I was parked in a parking lot with occupied buildings
and unoccupied buildings and thought were I was parked
was perfectly fine.

Answer
In California, a private property owner only has to post a sign 24 hours prior to towing vehicles.  There are no consessions in the law that require citing the vehicle beforehand.  In fact, law enforcement agencies do not cite parking problems on private property.  Section 22658 of the California Vehicle Code requires that the signs be a specific size, have specific wording, and be posted at every entrance onto the parking lot.  If that were the case here, you have no defense to fight the tow.

It is always wise to obey any private property parking restriction, unless you have permission from the property owner. ALWAYS look around for signs, even if you've been parking in the same lot for years.  Get to know the owner and get permission.

Alot of times, owners of unoccupied property ignore cars being parked on the property.  But they may change anytime for whatever reason.  Sometimes somebody sues the property owner for   a crime being committed against their car, or they change ownership, and the new owner doesn't want cars parked there--any number of reasons.  This would answer why so many people were surprised to be getting towed; they were used to being able to park there with immunity.

Sorry for you misfortune.  Please pass this information on to your friends to help everybody be aware of the law.