ALERT-Rodota Trail users, cars being towed

[O.W.]

I have walked the Rodota Trail for a many years, parking in the same area and had quite a surprise today when I returned from' my walk and thought my car was stolen. I park on the east side of the shopping center where Porkeez, Sandy's Paints, and Hydro complex are located. I called the Sebastopol Police to report my car stolen only to find that I was the first car to be towed and that legally the owner, Dennis Tennier of Porkeez only has to post one sign on his property and can tow whenever or whoever. I had NO WARNING, did not park by the posted signs no nothing and was gone for only 1 hour.

When I went to get my vehicle at West County Towing (their motto "All we want are your TOWS, Not an arm and a leg") the cost was a whopping $250. That's right even though Sebastopol Tow charges $80 for under 5 miles and Santa Rosa Tow charges $65, it will cost you $125 a block for a tow from these nasty folks. Why such a high fee? Do they know each other? When pressed "Norm" at WCT said it was $190 minimum fee plus $60 storage fee for that hour and that was "the cost of doing business". What a racket...literally highway robbery in our little town.

Everyone be aware this is happening and support community businesses that treat you right. Park somewhere else and don't spend your money at Porkeez or West County Tow.

[Barry]

I called the Sebastopol Police to report my car stolen only to find that I was the first car to be towed and that legally the owner, Dennis Tennier of Porkeez only has to post one sign on his property and can tow whenever or whoever. I had NO WARNING, did not park by the posted signs no nothing and was gone for only 1 hour.

I just gave Dennis, the owner of Porkeez House of Hobbys, a call and he said that he has posted signs and warned people for 2 weeks and now he is having people towed away because 10 spaces in the lot were recently leased to another business. The video has a recording of our call with his permission.

[O.W.]

I just listened to Dennis Tennier's of Porkeez recorded call and I am shocked at how many untruths he claims. I belong to a women's walking group that comes there every Friday at 10am for a one hour walk and have NEVER been warned verbally or written of their new policy. I was there last week as well, no warnings for any of us. I avoided the area that did have the non-code conforming signs. When I noticed my car was gone I went into Sandy's Paint for any help as I thought for sure my car was stolen. Stephen the owner of Sandy's paint store gave me the "customer parking only warning slip" from his office with the number of a tow company to help me find my car, he was most accommodating . There was no information about who had taken my vehicle or where it was, or who to call which is required by law in the California Vehicle Code section 22658 (a) which clearly states he is in the wrong and I can claim double damages by law.

Where he got that we were laughing about getting a warning, I haven't a clue. The police have said they have had multiple calls to that property today. If you are one of the others that have been towed, please email me so I can send you the legal information that you can use to take him to small claims court for double damages.

[Carbon]

I have been using this parking lot for years to gain access to the trail, but I did notice that their was a no parking sign put up at the entrance about two to three months ago. I did park in the lot after seeing the sign and a notice was put on my van letting me know that my van could be towed if I continued to park in the lot to gain access to the walking path and not using it to shop at the local shops in that strip mall. I did stop parking there and started using a public lot elsewhere to avoid any towing of my van, I believe we should respect that the parking lot is a private parking lot and that if you choose to ignore warning signs for parking in a lot and abusing it for personal reasons, then you shouldn't be surprised when your car is towed.

It's the vehicle owners responsibility to make sure you are paying attention to all signs that could cause your vehicle to be towed or cited for any violations, also are we being fare to the owners of any business when we use their parking lot for our use and possibly causing little or no parking for a business that they are paying for.

Think of it as if people started parking in front and around your house not leaving any room for your vehicle or your friends to park getting access to a park and leaving your street over crowded and all of your neighbors had no place to park. I do believe everyone would be upset and want it to stop.

[O.W.]

Porkeez has now put a legal sign that is visible as you drive in to warn everyone after the police have told him he is out of compliance. I have always parked in the dirt or over to the side to respect their rights to do business. I NEVER received a warning notice which if I had, I would not have considered parking there. How many people in the Rite Aid or Safeway parking lot do you think are actually in those stores? Our town is trying hard to not be car centric which I greatly appreciate.

I think its common decency to warn someone when policy changes. I did not park by any signs nor did I see the sign (nor did my walking partners) that was previously low to the ground in the bushes. I posted my original warning as a community service to others so they did not have to go through what I did. If we don't have each others back, what kind of a community are we living in? The irony here is that the Porkeez owner was using the property behind his store that belongs to another person, for his cars and has built car ramps etc. on Saturday. So when you speak of respect of people's property, does that not apply to everyone?

I have been using this parking lot for years to gain access to the trail, but I did notice that their was a no parking sign put up at the entrance about two to three months ago. I did park in the lot after seeing the sign and a notice was put on my van letting me know that my van could be towed if I continued to park in the lot to gain access to the walking path and not using it to shop at the local shops in that strip mall. I did stop parking there and started using a public lot elsewhere to avoid any towing of my van, I believe we should respect that the parking lot is a private parking lot and that if you choose to ignore warning signs for parking in a lot and abusing it for personal reasons, then you shouldn't be surprised when your car is towed.

It's the vehicle owners responsibility to make sure you are paying attention to all signs that could cause your vehicle to be towed or cited for any violations, also are we being fare to the owners of any business when we use there parking lot for our use and possibly causing little or no parking for a business that they are paying for.

Think of it as if people started parking in front and around your house not leaving any room for your vehicle or your friends to park getting access to a park and leaving your street over crowded and all of your neighbors had no place to park. I do believe everyone would be upset and want it to stop.

[Sebtown1968]

Instead of taking any responsibility for your car being towed, it seems to make perfect sense to start pointing fingers at everyone but yourself! Let's boycott Sebastopol Towing, Porkeez and, hey just for kicks, Joe Rodota himself!

You had no business parking in a shopping center parking lot to go on a hike- period. Nobody cares if you parked to the side or in the bushes or on the roof of the building, you were in their parking lot. That lot is not the Joe Rodota trail parking lot. You were towed because you were parked in a lot reserved for shoppers. Seems perfectly reasonable to me. Porkeez has the right to keep the spaces it pays for open and available for their customers.

Add to that, where is it your business to criticize the owner of Porkeez for parking his items in a lot owned by another person?
Do you know if he has permission to do this?
Are you certain he put those items there illegally?

Lets add to this your criticism of Sebastopol Towing...No matter where you are, when you have your car towed, it costs a lot. $250.00 is not on the high end and not on the low end for tow rates. Go get your car towed in San Francisco and tell me Sebastopol Tow is gouging you?

Finally, you are way out of line to be putting an all out call for boycotting these businesses. As a business owner, I can tell you that owning/operating a profitable business is very difficult. Having people like you making matters worse (when you are ultimately at fault) can have serious implications not only for that business, but for the business in question's employees and their families. You ought to be very careful when you willy-nilly throw out that we should be boycotting this or that before you realize the impact of your actions.

Mi Dos Centavos ,
Mark Inman

Porkeez has now put a legal sign that is visible as you drive in to warn everyone after the police have told him he is out of compliance. I have always parked in the dirt or over to the side to respect their rights to do business. I NEVER received a warning notice which if I had, I would not have considered parking there. How many people in the Rite Aid or Safeway parking lot do you think are actually in those stores? Our town is trying hard to not be car centric which I greatly appreciate.

I think its common decency to warn someone when policy changes. I did not park by any signs nor did I see the sign (nor did my walking partners) that was previously low to the ground in the bushes. I posted my original warning as a community service to others so they did not have to go through what I did. If we don't have each others back, what kind of a community are we living in? The irony here is that the Porkeez owner was using the property behind his store that belongs to another person, for his cars and has built car ramps etc. on Saturday. So when you speak of respect of people's property, does that not apply to everyone?

[O.W.]

Dear Mark,

I never said the towing company was Sebastopol Tow, obviously you are just going off without the facts. They had reasonable prices when I called them to see what the going rate is in our community. The only reason I have spoken out was to alert my community of what is going on. I was treated very rudely when I asked why I was towed by Dennis from Porkeez.

I have been a 40 year customer of Sandy's Paints which is now next door to Porkeez and go there after walks . How did he know that I wouldn't do that? Stephen of Sandy's Paints was upset about the situation and helped me because he had been told everyone was going to be warned.......wrong, never warned, never a word, did not park by ANY signs. I buy all my paint brushes etc. from Stephen because he sells made in the USA products. Don't lecture me about being a community and business minded person as I have been a willing community volunteer for many years in this County.

So let's kill the messenger is your attitude. The sign was not visible and was illegal if it had been so, where are you in regards to that? I did not say to boycott I said to give your business to people who treat you right. Never called for a boycott. I did call around and got prices from other tow companies....$80 and $65 for up to a 5 mile tow. I don't live in San Francisco which is a community of 750,000. So you think I should shut up, not say a thing and go back into my corner because I wanted to protect my community from the horrible experience I had? That's just BS Mark. By the way, I have been using YOUR Taylor Maid coffee for years. I have to rethink where I spend my money.

Instead of taking any responsibility for your car being towed, it seems to make perfect sense to start pointing fingers at everyone but yourself! Let's boycott Sebastopol Towing, Porkeez and, hey just for kicks, Joe Rodota himself!

You had no business parking in a shopping center parking lot to go on a hike- period. ...

[Sebtown1968]

You are correct, I did say Sebastopol Tow instead of West County Tow...This is my mistake, but hardly relevant to the point here.

But stating "Dont spend your money at Porkeez or West County Tow" is asking for a boycott. What else do you think this means? Asking people to not patronize any business is asking for a boycott.

As for the towing rates..Having your car removed from a lot to their yard for a violation is not the same as calling a towing company and asking them to tow your car for any distance. You can't seriously be confused by this?

How long you have been a customer of any business does not give you any sort of pass when it comes to the law..If your intent was to shop at Sandy's Paints after your hike, you should have driven to their lot and parked there when you intended to shop. Being a customer does not give you an infinite amount of time to park.

I am not asking you to go into a corner and shut up..I am asking you to look at your actions and understand why what happened to you was reasonable and justified. Up until this point, you have not taken any responsibility for your actions.

Finally, I no longer own Taylor Maid Farms and they have nothing to do with this conversation. I am a resident of Sebastopol with an opinion on a bulletin board- hence the point of a bulletin board. If we are going to threaten to not patronize every business owner who expresses an opinion here, then this site is not going to be long for this earth..Again, be careful with your words as they have implications.

Dos mas centavos,

Mark Inman

Dear Mark,

I never said the towing company was Sebastopol Tow, obviously you are just going off without the facts. ....

[O.W.]

The signs posted were not legal on June 7th when I was towed. California Vehicle Code section 22658 (1) is very clear about this and that makes it an illegal tow punishable by double or quadruple towing charges.

I am not asking you to go into a corner and shut up..I am asking you to look at your actions and understand why what happened to you was reasonable and justified. Up until this point, you have not taken any responsibility for your actions.

[Carbon]

[This post was not respectful, IMO. I have moved it to the Censored category, here. -Barry]

[SebCitizen]

The signs posted were not legal on June 7th when I was towed. California Vehicle Code section 22658 (1) is very clear about this and that makes it an illegal tow punishable by double or quadruple towing charges.

I used to park in that same parking lot until mid-May when the signs went up on the light posts in the parking lot. By the way, there are four signs in the parking lot besides the one at the entrance. I think you are just angry that your car got towed. The signs have been in the parking lot since before Memorial Day Weekend and the one in the entrance to the parking lot has been there since Bradley Video moved in. Don't you remember the signs on the fence that said Bradley Video Customer Parking Only?

The entrance sign was visible and clearly stated that the parking was for customers only. You stated you parked at the back of the lot where no signs were posted, so obviously you saw the signs. All the signs do contain the California Vehicle Code section 22658 and a phone number to call, so evidently you really weren't paying too much attention. The CVC number and the phone number were not an inch in height, but other than that, the signs are legal and are in compliance. I work as a Compliance Officer, so I should know if they are legal or not.

You also stated that you never received a warning, but I can't understand why you think you should be entitled to a warning. The business people can't run out to the parking lot and put a warning notice on every car, otherwise they wouldn't be conducting business. The notices I imagine were a courtesy. The signs posted are your warning. Customer Parking Only, others will be towed at owner's expense - how could that be any clearer? You were not a customer on the day your car was towed, so the entire parking lot is off limits to you unless you entered one of the 3 businesses there in an effort to purchase something. Simple as that. If you fail to put money in a parking meter, does the meter person give you a warning first? I think not. The signs are for the entire parking lot, not just a few select spaces.

Next time read the posted notices and park somewhere appropriate like the rest of us do. As far as I can tell, you were in the wrong and you owe the business man an apology.

[Carbon]

This web site is pretty amazing, as long as you are dumping on a business and picking on them trying to hurt whatever business they have or will have it's okay per the editor. But if you try and defend a business owner and call out someone who is wrong then your post gets removed or moved to the (Censored category). And yet no foul language was used or any threats, but again who knows maybe the editor is a pal of the women who was allowed to say and try and hurt a business that was doing nothing wrong, but the editor will support a person who was in the wrong. Post whatever they want to say even if they did cross the line, maybe this site should be looked into for there practice of supporting local business's or not supporting them. Even when you listen to the recording, the person Berry even waited until the end to say (Oh I should haven mentioned I have been recording this call) what a low down dirty trick to pull on a business owner, and possibly not legal. I hope the owner of Porkeez follows up with legal action on that matter. But this posting will probably be removed because it is not what this web site promotes, but wait yes it does, it's picking on a business so it's well within there guidelines.

[Barry]

Sorry to disappoint you, Carbon, but I'll let your post stand. In fact i let your objectionable (to me) post stand as well. I just moved it to another category that is not included in our digest by default, and provided a link to it within this thread.

In fact I more or less agree with your point of view, Carbon, and I tagged your earlier post that expressed it in a respectful manner as a "Barry's Pick" (tagging it does not mean that I agree but rather it's worthy of extra attention as users scan the activity here). Your more recent post was beyond the pale.

A few corrections/clarifications are in order:

This web site is pretty amazing,

Why, thank you, Bill (Carbon)!

as long as you are dumping on a business and picking on them trying to hurt whatever business they have or will have it's okay per the editor.

I'm not a big fan of "dumping" on businesses, or in the case, people. I do allow it to some degree in the spirit of free expression and as an opening to a productive and respective dialog. And it can also make for interesting reading . However, there's a limit, though it's hard to give a precise line to it. I also have an interest in having this be a safe and respectful place so people are willing to express themselves. I've got a pretty thick skin after doing this for years. If I find my gut recoiling from an angry attack (ouch!) I'm going to pull it. And if I do, I generally just move it to Censored and Uncensored and let people read at their own risk. In this case, I should have also dropped a note to Janus for the harsh reply she received and letting her know it has been moved (Sorry about that, Janus!). Hopefully my condemnation provides a bit of balm.

who knows maybe the editor is a pal of the women who was allowed to say and try and hurt a business that was doing nothing wrong,

I don't know Janus.

Even when you listen to the recording, the person Berry

My name is Barry. Strangely this is a common mistake. Who's ever met someone named "Berry"?

Berry even waited until the end to say (Oh I should haven mentioned I have been recording this call) what a low down dirty trick to pull on a business owner, and possibly not legal.

That was quite unintentional. But on reflection I think it's an excellent technique! The interviewee gets to speak without the concern of being recorded and then afterwards, after is clear what has been said, they can give permission for it to be published. I assure you that if Dennis hadn't given his permission I would not have posted it.

I've got some other comments about parking in commercial lots I'll post sometime soon.

[jesswolfe]

I have to agree, the signs are the warning. Its like if all of a sudden one space became a handicapped spot. Do you get mad when that happens because you didn't get warning? The minute the signs go up its illegal to park there. Period.

Also, I am sure there are people parked in the Safeway parking lot that aren't shopping there. Does it make it legal? No. Its like some of the convoluted arguments in congress where they keep saying whats the point of having a law because people are going to break it? Because laws are supposed to prevent people from breaking them and if you do there are consequences. The consequence in this case is an unhappy shop owner who can't get customers if the spaces are filled in the parking lot, and getting your car towed from effectively private property.

Jessica

The entrance sign was visible and clearly stated that the parking was for customers only. You stated you parked at the back of the lot where no signs were posted, so obviously you saw the signs. All the signs do contain the California Vehicle Code section 22658 and a phone number to call, so evidently you really weren't paying too much attention. The CVC number and the phone number were not an inch in height, but other than that, the signs are legal and are in compliance. I work as a Compliance Officer, so I should know if they are legal or not.

[tomcat]

That must have been very upsetting for you to come back from a pleasent and healthful walk on a lovely trail and find that your car had been towed away. I am so sorry that happened to you.
Thank you for reminding us all that parking on someones private property, or in any posted place, can have negative consequences.
I prefer not to nitpick about how legal the signs are, but that a property owner is trying to communicate their intent is what we need to pay attention to. It's all about awareness and respect. Learning experiences like these can often be difficult and expensive.
Thank you for bringing it to our attention that parking is now restricted in that Parking lot and reminding us that parking on any private property is at the discretion of the owner of that property.
I'm sure that we will now all be more aware of where we can and cannot park our vehicles and of any new signage that may go up in our preferred parking areas.
I am also very interested in hearing from other folks about where they have found the best LEGAL parking areas for the different sections of the trail.
Tom