Where do you live? In house? Apartment? Do you have a driveway or garage?

If you're in a situation where you have no choice but to park along the curb, that's especially infuriating.

I'm sure the law was intended to prevent abandoned cars or cars in disrepair from upsetting the sensibilities of rich homeowners.

But, of course, laws always have unintended consequences and rarely work perfectly as planned.

You're making a mountain out of a molehill. That *only* applies to parking on the street or in public alleyways. Moreover, the police aren't allowed to tow your car without first giving you notice and time to move the car.

Here's a link to the city's website (you can find the ordinance summary on the front page):
http://www.city.palo-alto.ca.us/public-works/swp-ordinances.html

And here's the Palo Alto Municipal Code if you want to look up the whole thing:
http://nt2.scbbs.com/cgi-bin/om_isapi.dll?clientID=322849&infobase=procode-3&softpage=Browse_Frame_Pg

I don't think this law is enforced unless someone complains, except for maybe in the main business districts. We had a someone leave a car full of stuff in front of our apartment for months until I finally called the police. Even after that, it took two weeks or so for it to disappear.