City Council looks to regulate parking ‘barnacles' in Philly

People looking to park their vehicles in Philadelphia have a new concern beyond the cost of using a parking garage, fees for parking on a city street and/or any fines that might be incurred for those who park in improper places or beyond time limits.

They are bright yellow parking "barnacles," plastic boxes equipped with suction cups that can be affixed to a vehicle's windshield, blocking a driver's view through the windshield. After they're attached, the vehicle's owner would need to pay a fee in order to have them removed.

Officials said these devices are being used by private towing companies and the owners of private lots, where fees can be set on a whim.

Unlike towing, which is regulated through a number of laws, parking barnacles aren't regulated. At a hearing held Monday, members of City Council's Committee on Public Safety heard that these devices can be used in a predatory manner.

In fact, Francis Healy, a Deputy Commissioner in the Philadelphia Police Department, told committee members that the use of these devices "should be illegal."

"Quite frankly, I think it should be illegal," he said, in discussing the devices. "I think it's extortion."

The problem, he explained, is that since the use of parking barnacles isn't regulated by the city, there's no set way for them to be employed. Unlike towing, parkers don't need to be aware these could be used or what fees might be if the devices are put onto their vehicles.

For someone who parks illegally, Healy said that an owner might be hit with fees required by law for any infraction, but would then also need to pay a separate fee -- that could vary depending on a number of factors -- in order to have the parking barnacle removed.

"That's extortion," Healy said.

City Councilman Curtis Jones, Jr. (D-4th dist.) agreed with Healy's sentiment and said that the relatively new technology has been implemented so quickly by private companies throughout the city that council is playing catch up.

"There is no regulation," he said. "The technology kind of got out in front of us and we are trying to play catch up."

During a hearing on Monday, councilmembers said that they are hoping to regulate the usage of these devices.

Rashawn Allen, president of Barnacle, the company that manufactures the parking devices, told the committee that the company works with clients who use the product to prevent predatory uses of the parking barnacles.

"We try to be as proactive as we can," said Allen, who claimed the company tells clients not to charge more than the cost of a tow to remove the devices.

He also said that the company doesn't want to be associated with predatory practices and will "fire" clients that engage in predatory practices or price gouging.

However, he admitted his company had not talked to the PPA or the city's Police Department before beginning to work with clients in Philadelphia.

"Whatever you're doing with your clients right now in Philadelphia, it's not working,. It is predatory," argued Councilmember Quetcy Lozada (D-7th district).

Lozada said that she has heard from constituents in her district that have seen their vehicles equipped with these devices and have been charged widely varying and exorbitant fees to have them removed -- sometimes different removal costs for vehicles parked at the same location.

In defending the use of these devices, Mikina Harrison, owner of A. Bob's Towing in the city's Frankford section, said the company is not operating in a predatory manner.

"We aren't trying to get one over on anyone," she said.

Harrison claimed that her company typically charges $75 to have a parking barnacle removed.

In the end, the committee decided to move discussion on this issue to the full council to determine what steps the city should take.