The transportation committee for the city of Birmingham could be moving an updated towing ordinance to the city council for a full vote by the end of the month, according to City Councilor Darrell O’ Quinn.

Whether or not the committee is able to do so is dependent on how the city attorney’s office progresses with their newest towing ordinance draft, O’ Quinn said.

In early June the city held a public hearing where Birmingham drivers impacted by what many are calling predatory towing could come air their concerns. Roughly a dozen people signed up to speak about their negative experiences being towed in Birmingham’s downtown. Many of their stories contained similar elements such as being towed due to mistakes entering their license plate information into the ParkMobile app.

Julie Bernard of the city attorney’s office presented a first draft of a new towing ordinance that would address several common towing complaints by calling for 15-minute grace periods before a car can be towed after parking, additional warnings on parking apps to check that entered information is correct, and the release of towed vehicles to owners who have proof they paid for parking,

After this meeting, O’ Quinn said that he was told by Bernard that the city attorney’s office would need a month or so to “consider public input and make additional changes to the ordinance.”