LYNNWOOD— As first reported by KING 5, more than 40 drivers faced unexpected fees exceeding $400 each after their vehicles were towed from a seemingly vacant lot adjacent to the new Lynnwood City Center light rail station following Wednesday’s Seattle Mariners game. The Seattle Mariners loss to the Toronto Blue Jays 4-13 in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series at T-Mobile Park that night.
The incident unfolded as the 1,900-space park-and-ride garage at the station reached capacity, prompting fans to seek alternative parking spots across the street. What appeared to be an open lot turned out to be private property, leading to the overnight removal of 45 vehicles by Mary’s Towing, a local company contracted by the landowner.
According to Mary’s Towing, the firm was summoned by the property owner to clear the site. Towing fees, which align with Washington state regulations, averaged around $400 per vehicle. Some affected drivers reported paying between $500 and $600 to retrieve their cars, including additional storage and release costs.
Destiny, one of the impacted drivers who had attended a concert rather than the baseball game, expressed frustration upon discovering her vehicle missing. “I’m pretty pissed! I’ve never had my car towed there before,” she said.
Mark, another driver caught in the sweep, described his surprise at the lack of clear warnings. “I was shocked. I thought at least there would be a sign,” he added.
A KING 5 visit to the site before sunrise on Thursday revealed several “No Parking” signs posted along the perimeter, alongside a knocked-down fence and erosion control barriers delineating the property’s boundaries. Snohomish County records indicate the land previously housed a strip mall that has since been demolished, leaving the area in a transitional state.
The towed vehicles originated from a fenced-off section next to Lynnwood Square, designated as the future site for Northline Village, a mixed-use development originally slated for completion in 2024. Construction delays have prevented groundbreaking to date, contributing to the site’s undeveloped appearance.
Ownership of the parcel traces back to MGP XI US Properties, LLC, a San Francisco-based real estate firm that purchased it in 2016 for $41 million from Alderwood Plaza LLC. County records further show that MGP XI US Properties has assembled a larger portfolio in the area, acquiring all adjacent parcels between 44th Avenue West and 46th Avenue West along 200th Street Southwest—excluding the Shell gas station—for a total of $56.5 million.
Author: Mario Lotmore
7 Responses
This guy is going to be very unpopular and no matter what he puts there, people will avoid it just like the failed mall. His signs were small and not new so they were dull and not as visible. The lot wasn’t partitioned off to prevent parking if he was so concerned with it. I would file a small claims with the court for damages in the loss of money and time to get the vehicle. I the future he should gate it off or at the very least put an entrance with no parking instead of an open lot.
But I wasn’t there.
okay, so can we ALL come park on your front lawn when we want to take the light rail? Yeah, did you finally find your common sense now, Mr. IQ no bigger than your shoe size?
There is a lot of comments here and on other news stations that are not true facts. You would need to go out to the site and look at the small lot on the corner of 200th St SW and 46th Ave W. As you come out of the transit staion from 46th W and cross 200th St SW there is a corner lot. Many cars were already parked in the lot so I pulled in as well. Some of us were looking for signs of no parking and there was nothing on this property as well as no private property signs. Therefore it seemed that is was ok to park there.
Everyone keeps saying there were signs but as I said coming from the transit center, there were ZERO signs from that entrance. Yes, there are signs in the shopping center itself but nothing posted by any entrance to this stand alone lot. Only after the fact did they tape off the lot (once they started towing and then on Thur they had Mary’s Towing put up a couple of sign Towing signs.
I spoke to one of the business owners of that lot when I arrived after the game on Wed and he told me it was a business private property and he did not need to post any signs. He admitted there were no signs.
Im sure if you look at the code RCW 46.55.070
Posting requirements—Exception.
(1) No person may impound, tow, or otherwise disturb any unauthorized vehicle standing on nonresidential private property or in a public parking facility for less than twenty-four hours unless a sign is posted near each entrance and on the property in a clearly conspicuous and visible location to all who park on such property.
This whole situation could have been handled differently since parking was limited for the Mariner game. All the owner had to do was give out warning signs on each vehicle and then the next day put up tape around the lot and post signs. Period
Here are just a few photos but I have more available.
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So what you are saying is since you probably don’t have no parking signs on your front lawn, we are all welcome to come park there when we want to take the light rail, is that correct Mr. IQ no bigger than you shoe size?
Did you ever read this comment before replying to it? Because they quoted a relevant ordinance that clearly makes a distinction between residential and non-residential private property.
You seem really quick to insult other people’s intelligence when you seem to have a bad problem with reading comprehension yourself.
YOU people are so entitled, can we park on your front lawn when we can catch the light rail to the game? Where is your common sense? You people are the same ones who get extra aggressive when you get brake checked for tailgating someone!
So some cars get parked on private property only for a few hours so people can watch a baseball game and then the towing company swoops in ??? Sounds like inside job to me!