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City of Bellingham Hearing Examiner

BEL-HEX-2025-10-27 October 27, 2025 Public Hearing City of Bellingham
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The City of Bellingham Hearing Examiner conducted a formal appeal hearing for an impound case involving appellant Jenesen Lavadia's 2019 Subaru Impreza, towed during the September 21, 2025 Bellingham Bay Marathon. Lavadia, a Mill Creek resident visiting friends, contested both the validity of the impound and the $710.14 in towing and storage fees. The case centered on whether adequate signage was provided to inform parkers of temporary no-parking restrictions along the marathon route. City witnesses testified that 124 temporary no-parking signs were posted throughout the race route, with federal guidelines requiring only two signs per block. However, Lavadia argued the single sign visible from his parking location was inadequate, particularly for out-of-town visitors during nighttime parking in windy, rainy conditions. The hearing revealed systematic challenges with special event parking enforcement. According to testimony, 33 vehicles were impounded that morning, with city staff anticipating 15-30 tows due to the large-scale nature of the event. Police attempted to contact vehicle owners before impounding but were unable to reach Lavadia due to lack of contact information for the Mill Creek resident. Hearing Examiner Sharon Rice will issue her decision within 10 business days (by November 10, 2025), determining whether the impound was valid under federal signage guidelines and municipal code requirements.

**Case HE25VI-042 Appeal:** No formal decision yet - under review by Hearing Examiner Sharon Rice with decision due November 10, 2025. The hearing examined whether a $710.14 impound was valid under federal signage standards and city code. **Impound Details:** 2019 Subaru Impreza towed at 8:22 AM on September 21, 2025 from East Laurel St…

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**Federal Signage Standards vs. Local Enforcement:** The case highlighted tension between federal Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) requirements and practical parking enforcement. City witnesses testified that federal guidelines require only two signs per block for temporary parking restrictions, but the appellant argued this standard is insufficient for complex urban environments and out-of-town visitors. **Special Event Coordination:** Staff detailed the multi-week planning process for the marathon, including notification to parking enforcement on August 28, provision of no-parking maps on September 15, and deployment of 124 temporary signs on September 18. The event coordinator, not city staff, was responsible for sign placement and maintenan…
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**Jenessen Lavadia (Appellant):** Mill Creek resident visiting Bellingham to celebrate a friend's work achievement argued he received inadequate notice of parking restrictions. Testified he is "hypervigilant" about legal parking and did not see reflective signage during nighttime parking in stormy conditions. Found the single sign on the ground the next morning and believes multiple signs should have been posted for each parking stall, citing Mill Creek's practice of using "sandwich board" signs for special events. **Stephanie Mays (Parking Code Compliance Officer):** Defended the city's signage as compliant with federal MUTCD standards requiring only two signs per block. Noted that permanent signage at the location also lacks directional arrows, establishing precedent for single-sign coverage. Emphasized that 124 signs were deployed marathon-wid…
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**Hearing Examiner Sharon Rice, on signage interpretation:** "This sign doesn't indicate that it applies to the entire block, so I'm, again... How the parking public is supposed to understand that." **Jenessen Lavadia, on his parking experience:** "I'm very hypervigilant when it comes to parking. Legally, I don't get parking tickets at all, so I would look around signs, and I honestly did not see any sign reflective." **Lieutenant Dante Alexander, on driver behavior during events:** "We stil…
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**November 10, 2025:** Hearing Examiner decision due on appeal case HE25VI-042. Decision will determine validity of impound and whether fees should be refunded or reduced. **Post-Decision:** If appellant wins, towing company Heston Hauling will iss…

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**Legal Precedent in Development:** This hearing will establish binding precedent for future impound appeals regarding adequacy of single-sign notification during special events, particularly affecting out-of-town visitors. **Documentation Standards:** The case demonstrated the importance of photographic evidence, with appel…
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## Meeting Overview On the morning of October 27, 2025, Hearing Examiner Sharon Rice convened a virtual Zoom hearing to consider an appeal that crystallized the tension between public safety enforcement and individual rights in municipal parking law. The case, designated HE25VI-042, involved Jenessen Lavadia of Mill Creek, Washington, challenging both the validity of his vehicle's impound during the September 21, 2025 Bellingham Bay Marathon and the $710.14 in associated fees. Rice, an attorney who contracts with Bellingham and nine other municipalities as hearing examiner, presided over what would become a detailed examination of signage adequacy, enforcement protocols, and the human cost of large-scale event management. The hearing featured testimony from city parking enforcement, police leadership, the towing company owner, and Lavadia himself—each offering competing narratives about what constitutes adequate notice and fair enforcement. ## The Marathon Morning Impound The events that brought Lavadia before the hearing examiner began weeks before his September 20 arrival in Bellingham. Stephanie Mays, a Parking Code Compliance Officer with the city, methodically walked through the preparation timeline for the Bellingham Bay Marathon—an event that city officials knew from experience would require aggressive parking enforcement to maintain public safety. "So we'll start with August 28th," Mays testified, establishing that the city received advance notice of the marathon, which was expected to draw over 1,500 participants. "Any... they notify us with any event that has, like, over 1,500 people attending." The enforcement machinery began moving September 15, when event coordinators provided the city with a comprehensive list of streets requiring temporary no-parking restrictions. Rather than a traditional map, Mays explained, "it's kind of like a list of the areas, so it's... we're looking at, like, railroad between the street and the street." The scope was massive: 124 temporary no-parking signs would blanket the race route. By September 17, Mays had contacted Heston Hauling to request multiple tow trucks for Sunday operation. "Typically, they only have a couple people on staff on Sundays, and we were projecting anywhere up to, you know, 15 to 30 cars, to be removed off of those locations," she explained. The city's expectation of widespread violations reflected years of experience with similar events. The temporary signage went up September 18, sh…
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### Meeting Overview The City of Bellingham Hearing Examiner met to consider case HE25VI-042, an appeal filed by Jenessen Lavadia contesting the impound of his 2019 Subaru Impreza and associated fees following the September 21st Bellingham Bay Marathon. The hearing examined whether proper signage was posted and fees were justified. ### Key Terms and Concepts **Hearing Examiner:** An independent attorney who contracts with municipalities to hear appeals and make legal decisions on city matters like impounds, rather than having these cases go to regular courts. **MUTCD (Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices):** Federal guidelines that establish standards for traffic signage, including how many no-parking signs are required per block. **Registered Tow Truck Operator:** A state-licensed towing company that must follow Washington State pricing guidelines and cannot charge more than officially approved rates. **Impound Appeal:** A legal process where vehicle owners can challenge whether their car was properly towed and whether the fees charged were correct. **Class A Tow Truck:** The largest category of tow truck, which commands the highest state-approved towing rates ($400 minimum in this case). **Informational Signpost:** Permanent metal posts on streets without parking meters that display parking rules and where temporary signs are attached for special events. **Public Works File Number:** The city's internal tracking system for impound cases (this case was 25PW-01456). **After-hours Fee:** Additional charges applied by towing companies for vehicle releases outside normal business hours (Monday-Friday, 8 AM-5 PM). ### Key People at This Meeting | Name | Role / Affiliation | |---|---| | Sharon Rice | Hearing Examiner | | Jenessen Lavadia | Appellant (vehicle owner) | | Stephanie Mays | Parking Code Compliance Officer, City of Bellingham | | Lieutenant Dante Alexander | Special Operations Lieutenant, Bellingham Police Department | | Chris Heston | Owner, Heston Hauling and Heston Towing | | Christina Bowker | Hearing Clerk | ### Backgrou…
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Transportation & Infrastructure Government Operations Bellingham Police Department City Of Bellingham Heston Hauling Washington State Patrol Chris Heston Christina Bowker Dante Alexander Jenessen Lavadia Sharon Rice Stephanie Mays Place East Laurel Street Bellingham Bay Marathon Due Process Federal Signage Standards Impound Appeal Parking Enforcement Public Safety Special Events Towing Fees Visitor Notification Weather Impact