Thread: Town, owner at odds over Abbey Court towing

Town, owner at odds over Abbey Court towing
Jul 24, 2008 News, Top Story Jump to Comments



Martin Ayala, who lives with his family in Abbey Court in Carrboro, stands outside the Carrboro Town Hall Saturday in protest of the recent spike in towing activity of residents’ cars by the apartment complex because they lack parking permits. Photo by Jordan Timpy.After dozens of cars are towed, residents claim discrimination

by Susan Dickson
Staff Writer

The owner of the majority of Abbey Court Condominiums told Mayor Mark Chilton on Monday that he would not suspend the complex’s towing policy and that management would continue to tow residents’ vehicles that do not have parking permits.

Chilton said he asked Ken Lucas, president and CEO of the Tar Heel Companies, to stop towing residents’ cars, but that Lucas refused. The Tar Heel Companies runs Abbey Court and Lucas owns most of the units in the complex.
Last week, Abbey Court began towing vehicles that were parked in the apartment complex’s parking lot without permits. However, many residents were denied parking permits because their cars have dents, need paint or have a cracked windshield, according to Carrboro police.

According to Chilton, Lucas said he was concerned that some people were parking there illegally to catch the bus to downtown Carrboro. In addition, according to Chilton, Lucas said he was concerned that there are people living in some of the apartments who aren’t on the lease and that he was trying to use the parking permits as a method to determine where people are living.



Towing notices have started appearing on windshields in Abbey Court. Photo by Jordan Timpy.According to resident Alfonso Hernandez, Abbey Court management had 47 cars towed in one day last week.
However, Chilton said Lucas told him the complex had towed only 12 cars.

Lucas did not return calls for comment. Lucas’ attorney, Bart White, said on Friday that he would speak with The Citizen, but has not returned multiple calls since.

“They want the cars to be pristine,â€

Yeah?? How many people live in a unit, is the next question? Are they illegals?

ICE go to this apartment Complex

[b]“It’s racist,â€

If the policy applies to all tenents, how is that discriminatory? Just because one group "chooses" to break the rule by not buying a parking permit, does that constitute discrimation?
It is a similar argument we hear often. If a law is inconvenient for Hispanics---it is discriminatory.

Did you catch the part about a "protected group"? Why would any group be more protected than another?