Chicopee, MA Business Licensing & Operations: Towing Companies (2026)

Chicopee regulates towing through its Zoning Ordinance rather than a separate towing license chapter. In the City of Chicopee, § 275-58 lists towing and storage of motor vehicles among the uses the City Council can approve by special permit in Business A Districts, and § 275-59 repeats the same conditions for Business B Districts. The code defines towing and storage services as businesses that include towing or storage of towed vehicles, trailers or anything mounted on trailers, covering the office, dispatch center, parking for tow vehicles and storage of vehicles towed from accidents, abandonment or reasons other than repair work normally contracted for by individuals.

The core rule is subsection (b): no towing service based in the City of Chicopee shall operate without a special permit issued by the City Council. Subsection (c) exempts towing services that were legally in existence when the subsection was adopted. Under (d), every towing service doing business within city limits must be able to store a minimum of 10 motor vehicles within the City of Chicopee, and must provide two parking spaces per employee on the largest shift, a minimum of three parking spaces for customers and one space for each business vehicle. Under (e), outdoor storage facilities sit only in a Business A, Business B or Industrial Zoning District. Under (f), an outdoor storage facility must be secured and fully enclosed by a sturdy privacy fence at least six feet high, with a lockable gate for ingress and egress, and it must be lighted from dusk to dawn.

Two record-keeping duties follow. Under (g), operators keep a complete and accurate list of all tow truck operators, each licensed to drive in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Under (h), companies keep a complete list of every tow truck they own and operate, showing make, model, color, year and VIN. Both lists must be available to the Building Inspector for the City of Chicopee on demand. Under (i), all tow trucks must be properly registered and insured at all times.

Special permits also run through § 275-9, which requires the City Council to impose conditions, safeguards and limitations on time or use, and bars a new special permit for an applicant in default on taxes, license fees or other money owed to the City.