This car owner also saw the note I had left on their windshield politely asking them to move and threw it out on the street as if we don't have enough trash to clean up on this block.

Dear E33rdSt:
How Can I Have a Vehicle Investigated and Towed Away?
Once a call for service is received, a Police Service Technician (PST) goes to the scene and investigates the complaint. One of several outcomes will occur:
~The vehicle may be towed away on first check, using several California Vehicle Code Sections such as Expired Registration over 6 Months; 5 or More Unpaid Parking Tickets; or Missing Vehicle Parts Needed to Operate.
~The vehicle may have a Courtesy Warning Sticker applied to the windshield giving notice that the vehicle tire mark must be broken within the next 72 hours. In this case: the PST records the vehicle’s odometer reading and marks a tire for recheck after the 72 hours have passed.
~If the vehicle tire mark remains unbroken after 72 hours have passed, the vehicle will be towed.

Thanks for fixing this issue!

The OPD Vehicle Enforcement Unit works to improve Oakland’s neighborhoods and enhance Oakland’s physical assets by addressing the problems of abandoned vehicles on public and private property and aggressively pursuing parking citation scofflaws. http://www2.oaklandnet.com/Government/o/OPD/s/vfaq/index.htm

Thanks calonergan,

Good stuff to know. 3 days seems like an awful long time to wait to tow a car - if someone was in a private lot it'd be instant and in my mind a driveway is private (it's not like the city would maintain it). I wonder if it would be legal to use a private towing service if you posted signs? It's not a frequent issue but certainly an annoying one.