The Braselton Town Council will consider two options for a “vehicle immobilization ordinance” that would determine whether businesses can hire private booting companies to immobilize vehicles illegally parked on their property.
At a Braselton Town Council Work Session Thursday night, Town Attorney Gregory Jay presented the two options to the town council, where he said the largest problem in Braselton revolves around tractor-trailers from the Pilot Travel Center on Highway 53.
“There’s not enough spaces … in the Pilot, and they are illegally parking in some areas both on the interstate and part of the impotence for this was Wendy’s,” Jay said at the work session.
According to Jay, Wendy’s has hired a private booting company to boot tractor-trailers that illegally park in their parking lot; however, this has put a strain on the Braselton Police Department.
Town Manager Jennifer Scott says the Braselton Police Department receives about one call a day from vehicle owners who have had their vehicle booted. Scott described this as “significant” for the size of the town.
According to Scott, some of these calls come from vehicle owners who believe local authorities have booted their vehicles.
To solve this problem, one of the ordinance options would require businesses who use a private booting company to maintain signage clarifying that a private company has booted their vehicle and not local authorities.
Jay said private booting companies would need to acquire a permit and go through a background check as a part of this option. On top of this, the ordinance would require private booting companies to clearly display identification on their vehicles and uniforms. Lastly, the ordinance would place a limit on fines to remove the boot and would not allow a vehicle to be booted if a person is still inside.
The second ordinance option would prohibit private booting companies from operating in Braselton altogether.
According to Scott, both options would reduce calls to 911 and the police department after an individual’s car has been booted.
The Braselton Town Council will consider the two options at the voting session on Monday, Feb. 8.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2021/2/977263/braselton-town-council-to-consider-two-options-for-booting-ordinance