Halifax's proposed booting bylaw passes 1st reading with key amendments

Halifax's potential car-booting bylaw passed its first reading Tuesday with a handful of changes, leaving only the second reading before it becomes law. 

The original motion called for clear signage, uniformed employees who are annually designated special constables, and a 30-minute time limit for someone to come and remove the parking boot — a device that attaches to a tire to prevent a vehicle from moving. 

The original motion also set a maximum release fee of $60. But companies that operate the boots argued the time limit and fee cap would make it hard for them to stay in business.

Halifax regional council debated several amendments over 90 minutes during Tuesday's meeting, eventually settling on three: the time limit was increased to 45 minutes and the maximum fee to $100. Council also added a clause compelling Halifax Regional Municipality to revisit the maximum fee every five years to see if it needs to be changed based on economic conditions. 

Booting companies in Halifax currently charge $100 plus tax. 

Cutting fee could drive companies 'out of business'

Coun. Trish Purdy proposed the fee and time limit amendments. She said the original proposals were unfair to the companies that operate the boots, which are used to deter people from parking illegally on private property. 

"I couldn't support the recommended $60 when they've already been charging what they have been charging for the last three years," she told council. "It would mean effectively that they would go out of business."

She said the 30-minute response time was too tight, given that company employees must drive through traffic to get to the illegally parked car. 

Under the proposed bylaw, people who have paid for parking in a private lot, but overstayed their time, would get a 15-minute cushion to move their vehicle before it could be booted. But anyone illegally parking on private property could get booted right away.

"Even though this is not a popular business, I think it's a necessary one," Purdy said. 

She gave the example of a private parking lot where illegally parked cars are occupying spaces, thus preventing the company from making money from the spots. 

Second reading could come this fall

Coun. Lisa Blackburn, who proposed the original motion in 2019, said she liked most of what she heard Tuesday. 

"While it didn't have 100 per cent of everything I wanted to see, I think we're at 80 per cent and I think it's a good start," she told CBC News after the council meeting. 

"I wanted to see the boot used as a last resort, as opposed to a first resort, as we do with any other parking situation that we have in HRM."

For parking violations on municipal property, people are ticketed first, and towed as a last option. HRM doesn't use car boots. 

Blackburn said she was happy the proposed bylaw would require booting companies to clearly mark their vehicles and employee outfits so that members of the public can understand what company they're dealing with. 

She said the motion should come for a second reading in the fall and could become a bylaw before the end of 2021. The industry is currently unregulated in HRM.

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