Nashville wants to temporarily suspend parking clamps because there are conflicts with new state law

Regulated parking against vehicles with a clamp will be temporarily suspended in Nashville starting Monday because a new state law prohibits commercial parking lot owners from hiring third-party companies to park against vehicles.

The law, which takes effect July 1, includes several new restrictions on the installation of clamps, including requiring licensing for businesses and capping the fee at $75 for removing a clamp. But it also includes a provision that prohibits third-party contractors and allows only parking lot owners and their employees to install clamps on commercial property.

The law has caused confusion and upset Metro Nashville’s local ordinance, which did the opposite and prohibited parking lot owners from installing clamps on their property.

The City Council must now draft a new ordinance that complies with state law and offers some sort of solution, Theresa Costonis, an assistant attorney in Metro’s legal department, said at a Transportation Licensing Commission meeting on June 20.

There are currently eight licensed third-party companies in the city that are affected by the parking closures.

“I feel like there will essentially be no parking ban in Davidson County after July 1st until the council passes an ordinance in accordance with state law,” she told commissioners. “All of our parking ban licenses will effectively be void.”

In Nashville, the practice of car boating has become an increasingly controversial issue, with residents complaining about inconsiderate practices, unclear signage and disruptions in the payment system.

The situation was particularly bad this year at the U.S. Post Office in Inglewood, where a company was waiting to ticket unsuspecting drivers who parked in the wrong parking space.

In recent months, two companies have been forced to refund hundreds of drivers for driving with expired city permits, and one of the largest companies, Nashville Boating LLC, filed a class-action lawsuit for allegedly making people wait for hours to have their clamps removed.

Chris Lawson, owner of New Orleans-based Admiral Enforcement, said his parking enforcement operations in Nashville have already been reduced by about 75% as property owners try to avoid negative publicity.

He said he plans to cease operations on July 1 until he receives further clarification from the city.

State law states that local authorities “may permit a licensed parking lot owner or a licensed parking attendant on behalf of the licensed parking lot owner to park in the licensed parking lot” provided they comply with appropriate regulations, including licensing and signage.

Costonis said that under state law, businesses will have to obtain new permits once the City Council passes a new ordinance. Until then, motorists may be able to get an exemption from having their cars impounded.

“It seems to me that it would seriously disrupt their business model,” Constonis said.

This article originally appeared in the Nashville Tennessean: Thanks to a new state law, Nashville will end parking at cars on July 1