Towing company in “Reserve at Renton” controversy not on Renton business license list

For several months distraught residents and visitors of “The Reserve at Renton” senior living apartments have been attending Renton City Council Meetings and complaining about towing.  Many have testified that they or someone they know had their car towed to Kent unfairly, and they say they were billed as much as eight hundred dollars to reclaim their car.

I posted two blog entries about this controversy in September that you can find here and here.

On my first post an anonymous commenter wrote “I’d be curious if the towing company is licensed to do business in Renton”.  I assumed the company probably had a Renton license, as it seemed unlikely that a company that was being discussed so publicly at Council meetings would not be checked by anyone at the city as to whether they had a Renton business license. But I told the commenter I would look into it.

I only recently followed up on this comment, and the answer surprised me.

The city publishes an 81 page list of active Renton business licenses, and Lynn’s Towing is not on it.  There are nineteen other tow companies on the list, including many in Renton and some in Seattle, Issaquah, Burien, and elsewhere.  There are also many other types of businesses with headquarters on Central Ave in Kent, near Lynn’s towing address of record.  But Lynn’s Towing does not appear to be on the list.  Readers can check the list for themselves here.

Note that I’m only commenting on whether Lynn’s Towing appears to be on the published list of Renton business licenses.  Towing companies also need Federal DOT and State Business License, and I think that they meet those requirements; State license records show them with a current license.  I tried to access the company’s website today to find their posted license information, and unfortunately the site appeared to be down both times that I checked it.

I’m not an attorney, so I can not say whether a lack of a city license would have any bearing on the legality of the towing actions that were discussed at the Renton City Council meetings.  Towing procedures are covered primarily under state law (and at this time I assume the business has the necessary state licenses). City business licensing concerns would primarily be an issue between the city and the business, and often involve payment of taxes to the correct jurisdiction.

Anyone in Renton whose car gets towed involuntarily could ask for  proof that the towing company is licensed to do business in our city.  A business found to be ignoring licensing rules has no credibility in making judgements about who is lawfully following parking rules.