New Law in Stratford Aims to Combat Blight

An amendment passed by town officials this week will allow local police more leeway when tagging cars to be towed for appearing abandoned on town streets.

"It has added inoperable vehicles that are registered," said Councilman Jason Santi (D-4) of the amendment he and fellow Council members approved Monday by a 7-to-1 vote.

The updated law, which will fine owners $150 for each offense, will go into effect about a month from now. The current law on the books for abandoned vehicles on town roads mainly deals with "immediate hazards," Santi said, and is quicker to punish owners of unregistered vehicles.

The Councilman said this update will empower local police to tag registered vehicles that sit on town roads for weeks, gathering leaves and dirt around sometimes flat tires. With the current law, "there's a gray area" as to when an officer can slap a sticker on a registered vehicle, Santi said.

"[The update] gives them just a little more power to put a tag on it," he said.

The tag is a notification sticker telling the owner he or she has 24 hours to move the vehicle or be subject to a $150 fine and have the car be taken into custody.

Santi said the amendment codifies a state law that permits local police to tag abandoned vehicles. He said the goal of the revision on the local level is to go after "habitual offenders," such as some spots in Stratford where one home has several seemingly abandoned vehicles parked on the street.

"This is a quality of life issue," he said.

Fellow Democrat Stephanie Philips, who represents the Second District, cast the lone dissenting vote, according to Santi, who said there were arguments against the revision based on views that residents depend on the road for parking and the updated law could become contentious between citizens and police.

But Santi said he is confident that police will use discretion, including in cases where neighbors might start calling to "bust each other's chops."

What do you think of the town's effort to rid the streets of abandoned vehicles? Tell us in the comments.