West Haven, CT Business Licensing & Operations: Towing Companies (2026)

Chapter 188 of the West Haven Code, the Severe Weather Ordinance, adopted by the City Council on 11-12-1985, is where the code sets duties for non-consent towing. It does not license tow operators; it controls what happens when a vehicle is removed for a parking violation during severe weather or a snow emergency in the City of West Haven.

Section 188-8 A lets any police officer, by direction of the Chief of Police, remove or cause the removal of a vehicle parked in violation of the chapter, at the owner's expense, to a designated municipally owned parking area. If no municipally owned area has room for storage or additional storage, the Chief of Police is authorized to direct the towing of the vehicles, at the owner's expense, to privately owned parking areas. Under § 188-8 B the owners or operators of those private lots can charge a storage fee not to exceed $5 for each 24 hours or portion thereof.

Notice duties are in § 188-9. The officer reports the removal to a legally designated person who notifies the owner, on the owner's inquiry, of the removal, the reason and where the vehicle is impounded. Separately, the owner must be notified within three business days of the tow by the business or agency that towed the vehicle. That notice goes by certified mail, return receipt requested, and states the vehicle's location, the cost of towing and, if applicable, storage fees. Section 188-10 requires the owner to furnish evidence of identity and ownership, sign a receipt and pay the towing or removal cost and any storage fees before taking the vehicle.

The Chief of Police can also move any vehicle left in storage for more than 48 hours following the declaration of the end of the severe weather, at the owner's expense, and the charges must be paid before release (§ 188-12). Section 188-13 leaves other provisions or ordinances that set towing rates or storage charges outside severe weather untouched. Fire zone vehicles can be towed to any public or private parking facility at the registered owner's expense (§ 108-6), and vehicles violating park parking regulations can be towed at the owner's expense (§ 170-33).