Posted on 04/25/2016 4:09:07 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Spend a few late-night hours outside Beach Towing's walled-in lot in Sunset Harbour and you'll surely hear this refrain from a furious tourist realizing he owes $300 to get his car back: "This is illegal!" There's not much recourse for those burned tourists except to fork over the cash.
But now a developer at war with the towing operation is echoing that refrain. Beach Towing, the developer argues in a 14-page letter sent to Miami Beach City Hall, has been illegally operating for decades under the wrong permit and should be shut down.
"Beach Towing Service's towing service operation at 1349 Dade Boulevard is an illegal use," argues attorney Michael Larkin, who represents Deco Capital, a developer planning a luxury condo project on Purdy Avenue. "The City of Miami Beach must act."
Beach Towing says the claims are nonsense driven by the developer's greed.
"The developer, Deco Capital, is attempting to use the city as its private army to line their pockets at the expense of neighboring property owners and residents," says Ralph Andrade, Beach Towing's attorney.
At the heart of the argument is whether Beach Towing has the proper permits to run a tow operation. The letter delves deep into the company's past, all the way back to 1956, when a gas station occupied the site. The city gave its owners permits to run a gas station, which allowed towing as an accessory practice.
In the 60 years since, the permits have never been updated to reflect a full-time towing business, the complaint says. Beach Towing's owner, Vincent Festa, bought the site in 1975 and by the mid-'80s had removed all gas tanks and turned the business into a full-time towing company. But his permits never changed, Larkin argues.
"The Beach Towing operation as it stands today would never have been permitted," he writes in his letter.
Beach Towing's lawyer says that's not true and they'll fight to keep their operation open. "The allegations contained in the letter are contrived and have no basis in the law or facts," Andrade says. "We trust the city manager and city attorney will swiftly reject it."
The scuffle over Beach Towing's permitting is just the latest broadside in an escalating war between the powerful tow company and a billionaire developer looking to remake Purdy Avenue. Marc Rowan, a megadeveloper based in New York, is the force behind Deco Capital, which has purchased eight lots along the bayfront street. They plan to build 15 luxury condos stacked atop retail space.
But Rowan's group needs city approval to build above height restrictions. That has proven a sticky subject, with Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine recusing himself from the process over ethical concerns because he owns adjacent property.
And Beach Towing has become a major thorn in Deco's side. The tow company holds a restrictive deed on one of the properties, which it used to own, and wants a serious payout from Rowan's group to lift it. Instead of ponying up, the developer sued Beach Towing in civil court (a case that's on hold while the city considers the height request).
And now, Rowan's group has basically exercised the nuclear option. Beach Towing can hardly keep holding up the project, after all, if the city yanks its permits and puts it out of business.
Not too many tourists or careless residents would be upset by that move.
Cities and their lackey towing companies are crooks for the most part.
A permit held (invalid or otherwise) since 1956.
A NY Developer comes in and doesn’t like the rules, so he’s gonna sue, where have I heard this before?
..The city gave its owners permits to run a GAS STATION, which allowed towing as an ACCESSORY practice. The intent and purpose of the permit is clear.
“A NY Developer comes in and doesn’t like the rules, so he’s gonna sue, where have I heard this before?”
FWIW, I’m with this developer just as I’m with Donald Trump.
The “permit” holder probably wouldn’t pay to have the gas stations fuel storage tanks brought up to date and current standards.
So, apparently decided to close the station, which may well cost him his “towing” business. I Don’t feel sorry for him one bit. Towing companies rank lower than lawyers and used car salesmen in public opinion.
“Towing companies rank lower than lawyers and used car salesmen in public opinion.”
But nothing like a 7% Black, 43% Arab US pResident!
Couldn't agree more.
I wonder if the owner of this business is related to the owner of Lincoln Park Towing in Chicago??
"Can I give you a credit card? I don't have $300."
"Hello, Visa? I want to dispute a charge."
Which will lead them to “cash only”. Of course they will install on the premises an ATM with an exorbitant service charge of which they get a part.
As much as I would like to see this towing company get shafted, this does appear to be a minor paperwork issue not a serious legal problem.
Probably all the owner of the tow company has to do is rent a garage space to someone who wants to do brake jobs and oil changes to help fall back under the “service station” definition
It’s not illegal as long as you pay off the right politicians.
Ive unfortunately stopped by and they’re cash only
And yes, they do have a $5 ATM that looks like it was bought second hand from west africa. you’ll probably catch ebola and lose your pin all at once
Tow companies are the scum of the earth. All of them absolutely without exception.
L
My office overlooks a grocery store parking lot. They strictly control parking for customers only. Co-workers once saw someone come out of the store, load a few bags of groceries in their car and walk to the nearby Starbucks. Within a minute, the tow truck drive up and hooks their car.
They also said the tow truck driver is of a certain racial makeup. Those of the majority race always get towed, those of his race get a break, every time.
One more reason not to shop there.
I think the correct term is Service Station because the towing was meant to deliver the car being towed for service. People may not remember but the Service Station used to be a primary provider of car repair. Gasoline was sold as a loss leader providing a profit of one or two cents a gallon.
Air Conditioner repair is just as bad if not worse because most people carry towing insurance today. Even if your air conditioner is under warranty the service people can and do charge upwards of $1,000.00 to replace the freon they pump out of your system. Freon can be purchased on Amazon for less than a tenth of that price.
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