Online petition aims to stop ordinance to impound unregistered cars

provided by JADE LOVELADY

Jade Lovelady is considering a ballot measure to halt new city rule.

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An online petition is seeking to halt the city from impounding unregistered vehicles.

Titled “STOP Ordinance 6913: Protect Springfield Drivers from Unjust Vehicle Impoundment,” the petition is posted on the website Change.org. It was created March 6 and had 689 signatures as of the publication of this article.

City Ordinance 6913 allows officers from the Springfield Police Department the option of towing cars with expired or missing vehicle registration tags.

Jade Lovelady, a stay-at-home parent and former real estate agent, started the petition and said it is starting to gain traction.

One reason, she said, is that the ordinance was made redundant with the passage of Missouri Senate Bill 398, which requires sales tax for the purchase of a vehicle to be collected by dealers.

“That ends up doing away with temporary tags almost completely,” Lovelady said.

But more than that, Lovelady said that it seems unfair to punish people for something they were probably intending to take care of.

“I generally believe people are good, and I want to give them the grace that they need,” she said.

Lovelady said she was prompted to start the petition because she grew up in poverty and understands that for people who are struggling, one little thing, like a vehicle impoundment, can be disastrous.

“I don’t want to see people suffer any more than they have to,” she said.

Lovelady said she is not opposed to consequences, but she believes drivers should get a warning before an impoundment occurs. She gave an example of a person parking their car and coming back to discover it had been towed. This might keep a parent from picking up a child at daycare or taking care of an older relative.

She noted some people believe the ordinance is a good thing, and these may be people who struggle but do what they can to stay up to date with their registration and related requirements, including insurance, personal property taxes and inspections.

“If they’re upholding all the rules, it can feel unfair to them,” she said.

A warning would allow people some time to find resources, she said, instead of walking out of a building and finding their car is missing.

She added that Springfield needs to be more gracious to its community members.

“Strong-arming citizens into compliance will never lead to a healthy relationship between the government and the people,” she said.

Springfield Police Chief Paul Williams has said his officers will have a 30-day public education period before impounding cars, and he also said the officers would exercise discretion in towing.

“We are not going to be taking every car that has an expired tag and towing it,” he said at a Feb. 24 City Council meeting.

In a note on the Change.org petition, Lovelady proposes submitting a petition to the city to put an issue on an upcoming ballot to rescind the ordinance. She says 1,961 signatures by city residents who are registered voters would be needed within the next two weeks.

A reader poll posted online by Springfield Business Journal Feb. 26 finds that almost three-quarters of respondents – 490 out of 688, as of 11 a.m. today – support council’s decision to allow unregistered vehicles to be towed.