Charlotte City Council’s safety committee is weighing changes to the city’s towing rules after police officials described recurring complaints and confrontations at tow lots. Any local crackdown would face limits: North Carolina law and court rulings restrict how far municipalities can regulate towing, including the fees companies charge. At a committee meeting Monday, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department attorney Jessica Battle outlined several possible changes. The city could require property owners to authorize private-lot tows at all hours, rather than only from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., as the current ordinance requires. Council members also could consider prohibiting the towing of occupied vehicles and raising penalties for companies that violate local rules. The current fine is capped at $100. Safety Committee Chair Dante Anderson said higher penalties could make repeat violations less attractive to operators. “Having the opportunity to potentially increase that penalty will then make those bad actors think twice about whether or not they want to hitch that car to their truck,” Anderson said. Police Deputy Chief Jacquulyn Bryley said the department regularly receives complaints from residents, towing businesses and officers. Police are sometimes called to tow lots to mediate tense encounters, including situations where drivers wear bulletproof vests and carry firearms while vehicle owners sit on their cars to try to stop a tow. Bryley said she believes about 90% of towing businesses operate appropriately. How often Charlotte’s towing rules are enforced remains unclear. Police records staff told a recent records requester that the department does not maintain citation data. State court records reviewed for fiscal year 2025-26 showed no Mecklenburg County infractions for improper towing. The committee is waiting for additional information from police before deciding whether to recommend changes to the full council. Council Member Dimple Ajmera raised the possibility of tracking repeat violators and sharing information with state Attorney General Jeff Jackson. Council Member Malcolm Graham said he would seek to add towing legislation to Charlotte’s state-level priorities and coordinate with the North Carolina League of Municipalities. The city’s authority is constrained by a 2014 North Carolina Supreme Court decision, King v. Town of Chapel Hill, which limited municipal power over towing and set limits on regulating companies’ fees and services. State lawmakers have pursued broader consumer protections, but House Bill 199 stalled in committee. A separate measure banning commercial vehicle booting did become law, and lawmakers have said they intend to refile broader reforms. The committee has not yet made a recommendation. Its next steps will depend in part on the enforcement information it receives from police and on whether state lawmakers revisit the rules that limit local control.