San Francisco’s ‘Poverty Towing:’ Hurts Poorer Residents the Most

The battle over towing cars in San Francisco, specifically those that have accrued several tickets, reached unchartered waters this week in the city following a ruling late last week that found the practice to be illegal due to violating the California Constitution.

For the last several decades, skyrocketing rents, a growing homeless population, and the cost of living growing so high that the poverty-level for a single-person household is set at $104,000 have all been some of the trademarks of San Francisco, especially during the tech boom of the 2010’s. These factors drew many in the city to live in their cars or to ignore parking tickets placed on them due to being unable to pay their fines.

The 4th San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) also reports that tickets have been on the rise, with the Agency making roughly $90 million a year and giving out roughly a million and a half tickets per year. The ticket amounts are also high, coming in higher than most major cities, including the average ticket price $10 higher than in Los Angeles.

Combined, the issues led to a major problem for lower-income residents in the city – towing. Specifically, a law stating that the city will automatically tow cars with five or more unpaid parking tickets and the owner not responding to correspondence from the city for 21 days. If owners could then not prove that they paid their tickets, the city would then sell the vehicle at auction to pay the outstanding fines. The city maintained that the practice was for the good of the city, helping keep streets safer and removing vehicles helped with the cities safe biking and pedestrian goals.

However, homeless groups and those representing lower-income residents, led by the Coalition on Homelessness, called the practice “poverty towing” and said that the tows only further hurt poorer residents due to the overall cost of what paying for the release would be, upending lives in the process, such as many not being able to drive to work as a result.

The issues came to a head earlier this year when the Coalition on Homelessness filed an appeal in the California Court of Appeal. Last Friday, the court finally ruled on the matter, finding in favor of the lower-income advocates. Specifically, the court found that the practice violates the Fourth Amendment, specifically noting the protection against unreasonable search and seizures. The city reasoned that the law was in place as untowed, multiple-violation cars posed a public health risk, but the court denied it, requiring that any tow of a car with five or more tickets on it now requires a warrant. However, other traffic laws also apply, meaning that cars with multiple tickets parked in a dangerous or illegal area can be towed due to the car being in violation of another law.

Opponents of the practice hailed the ruling as a win. “In San Francisco, thousands of households are on the brink of homelessness, where a single adverse event can thrust them out of housing,” Coalition on Homelessness Jennifer Friedenbach said. “Poverty tows are one of those events, where the loss of a car leads to the loss of the transportation needed to get to work, and suddenly the household can’t make rent.”

A new towing ruling for the city

City officials, meanwhile, were not happy with the decision and, as of this week, are considering whether an appeal to a higher court is in order.

“While our advocacy during oral arguments helped shape and narrow the final decision, we are disappointed by the overall decision and believe it further impedes the city’s ability to maintain safe and healthy streets,” said Jen Kwart, a city attorney’s office spokeswoman. “We are reviewing the decision and considering any appropriate next steps.”

With the battle in the practice still up in the air, especially with AB 1082 progressing in the Assembly in Sacramento trying to end the “poverty towing” practice statewide, many in San Francisco are awaiting what the final word will be.

“I’m not sure that you could call it a health violation or something, but those cars are a problem out there,” Bay Area tow truck driver A.J. Rodriguez told the Globe on Wednesday. “You do feel bad in some cases, but they kept breaking the law. Parking fines are out there for safer streets and to keep the flow of people coming in and out in line. You need to keep an eye on that sort of thing, like when a meter expires or what days are streetsweeping days. It isn’t hard, and if you are tight on funds, it is just another incentive to be diligent.”

“I’m very much against this court ruling. It’s not that I won’t have less work or anything like that, but it’s because those people with the tickets we tow have been knowingly breaking city laws and now get a pass. We already have seen this in so many areas of San Francisco. We can’t prosecute most people. We can’t go after shoplifters. And now we can’t tow cars of people blatantly breaking the law. And look at the results of the first two. Crime has been going up and stores have either been pulling out, hiring extra security, or putting everything behind glass. With this court ruling, parking will now be even worse and people will blatantly use it to their advantage.”

However, another tow truck driver in the area, Lloyd Bentham, added that “Hopefully a higher court will reverse this. I don’t like the city that San Francisco has become. Every day, the city seems to do something new to make people’s lives there worse. Towing away cars with tickets is a small thing in perspective, but it was something people could rely on. Hopefully another judge sees it that way.”

As of Wednesday, it is currently unknown if the matter will go to a higher court soon.