Towing Issues: Car towed after being there for 2 hours, public streets, half a day

Question
Okay, so here's a little bit of background. There is a fair going on in Ocean Beach, (San Diego) CA. There were signs posted that the street would be closed during the DAY of the event. So, around 2AM my friend parked his car on a street that had no blocking, no signs saying that cars would be towed if left there and no signs stating the road was even blocked, except for the sign stating that during the DAY the road would be closed.
So, we went to an after hours party on said road, and at 4AM we left, the car had been there for less than 2 hours, really. And they were towing -every- vehicle. My friends car was towed, and several other people at the parties cars were towed.
So my question is, how exactly is that legal that the came in and towed peoples cars, who had not been there for even half a day, let alone what I've read to be the 24 hour limitation before it -can- be towed? And is there any way to dispute what was done? It seems to me that the city set it up so that people could park there until late in the night, and then when they hoped everyone would be in bed and asleep, they put up signs saying the road was blocked, and went in and towed people.
Driving into OB at 1:30 I saw NO signs on any street except for one street saying roads were blocked. At the end of the street there was nothing.

Answer
I think you are confusing the 24 hour law (which does not always apply) for parking lots and businesses with laws regarding PUBLIC STREETS...

First of all, most permits for fairs and such are CALENDAR DAY permits and as such they start at midnight and end at midnite.
That being said, it sounds as if the vehicle was towed at the direction of the local police who were enforcing the parking laws and such...
There generally do not have to be signs every 10 feet or even every 100 feet..  Generally there will be a few in the block, but not always. The city does have guidelines on what signs have to be up and who is responsible for posting them. They might of been City signs or they might of been the responsibility of the permit holder.. I really do not know without looking at all the paperwork for the fair permits, parking permits and such...


But best answer is the common sense answer, if you see one sign on the block the it generally applies to the whole block. After all you do not see a speed limit sign every 50 feet do you ?


Check with the police and they might be able to tell you what laws applied at that point, and if you got a parking ticket also then you will have the reason for the tow also...  You can try to go to court and see what the judge will rule on if you contest the ticket and the towing, but you never know how they will rule...


Good luck