City Reinstates Abandoned Auto Program : Cars: Beginning Jan. 1, tow trucks can haul away vehicles after 72 hours. Complaints are abundant.

The junked car sat next to the curb for months. Vince Street residents complained, but the Police Department had quit the towing business nearly five years ago.

Then someone finally lit the hulk on fire and the police towed it away because it posed a health hazard.

“It was an invitation to vandalism and an eyesore,” resident Heidi Sohn said. “I wish the police could have towed it away in the first place.”

Starting Jan. 1, they can.

Originally eliminated because of budget cuts, the Ventura Police Department’s Abandoned Auto Program is back in business. Officials hope the $90,000-a-year program will pay for itself with towing fees.

Residents fed up with hunks of junk, giant Winnebagos and obnoxious mechanic-wannabe neighbors littering their curbs now have a recourse.

“If the vehicle hasn’t been moved in more than 72 hours, is a hazard or its registration expired more than a year ago, it’s history,” Ventura Cpl. John Turner said. “The roadway in front of your house doesn’t come with the deed or title of the house. It’s public property.”

That’s music to Mike Del Dosso’s ears. He’s tired of looking at other people’s trash on wheels.

“You take pride in your yard and your house and you take care of it, and then someone junks an old car in front of it,” the Ventura Avenue resident said. “Instead of waiting months for it to be moved, we’ll only have to wait 72 hours.”

Residents who can’t fit extra vehicles and boats in their driveways should pay to have them stored, Turner said.

“Some people don’t mind owning three or four cars, just as long as one is running,” he said. “But that’s not real considerate of neighbors, and it takes up valuable parking spaces.

Five years ago, Turner’s unit received about 20 calls a day from irate residents reporting abandoned and illegally stored cars, and towed about 2,000 cars a year, he said.

“We still have complaints coming out of our ears,” Turner said. “The only thing that stopped was the service we provided.”

Now the three-person traffic unit has a fourth staffer who is already in training and raring to go New Year’s Day.

Although many residents are enthusiastic about the program, many harbor resentment toward the costly towing mandate. Towing fees start at $55, and then errant citizens must add $15 a day for storage and a $63 fee to the city for processing paperwork.

“When people see the bill, they become unglued,” said Jimmy Ramirez of Jimmy Z Towing. “Putting up with irate people is part and parcel of my job.”

Considering the steep bill, nearly 40% of the towed cars are never picked up, Ramirez said. When that happens, nobody makes much money. The tow company gets less than $100 for the scrap metal, $25 of which goes to the city to make up for the lost paperwork fee.

“We’re kind of the garbage men of junk vehicles,” Ramirez said. “We clean up the streets of Ventura and nobody appreciates it. It’s a thankless job.”