Town vote to repeal cellphone ban fails

Chapel Hill Town Council member Matt Czajkowski is ready to move on from last year’s unsuccessful cellphone ban.

The ordinance, which the council passed in March, banned the use of both handheld and hands-free cellphones while driving. It was overturned in August after a judge ruled it unenforceable.

During the council’s Monday night meeting, Czajkowski petitioned the council to repeal the inactive ban — a move that ultimately failed in a 5-2 vote.

Czajkowski said he thinks the back-and-forth on the ordinance — which was the first of its kind — is taking up valuable town resources, which are in high demand as the town is battling multiple lawsuits.

“To me, it brought back this whole discussion of opportunity cost,” he said. “Something else doesn’t get done if people are using their time for that.”

Town Attorney Ralph Karpinos said the town is currently involved in seven or eight lawsuits. Due to the influx of cases, the town had to hire a third party counsel for one case.

“We have a lot going on, and we have a lot of other demands on our time,” he said.

The cellphone ban was originally challenged by George’s Towing & Recovery. Owner George King sued the town, claiming the ban and another ordinance regulating towing were unconstitutional.

On Aug. 2, Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson ruled the cellphone ban unenforceable and overturned the towing ordinance.

The town is in the process of appealing that decision. Karpinos said the N.C. Appeals Court should decide in the next month or so if oral arguments will be heard before a ruling is made.

Council member Jim Ward, who voted against Czajkowski’s motion, said the lawsuits are worth the resources they use.

“While there are more of these going on than typical, I still support putting the required resources into defending those actions,” he said.

But though the ordinance is unenforceable, Ward said, it should be maintained to educate people about the dangers of using cellphones while driving.

Czajkowski said he thinks the cellphone ordinance was valuable but has had unintended consequences.

“When you stretch like we did, you don’t know what kind of consequences it will create,” he said.

One consequence Czajkowski is concerned about is the effect of the cellphone ordinance on the towing ordinance. Many towing company employees operate with cellphones in their vehicles.

“We have to defend that towing ordinance,” he said. “We’ve put in jeopardy every towing ordinance in every municipality in the state.”

Contact the desk editor at city@dailytarheel.com.