Motorists who leave their vehicles parked at Columbia Regional Airport for 45 days or longer would risk having their cars towed under a new proposed law the Columbia City Council will consider Tuesday.

Travelers with plans to be out of the city for extended periods of time would still be able to park at the airport without risk of being towed, as long as they filled out authorization forms letting the airport know about their plans, airport manager Mike Parks said.

Airport leaders have expressed concern over the optics of vehicles abandoned in the lot. The Missourian observed waist-high weeds growing around one white SUV with a South Carolina license plate parked in the gravel area of the airport's overflow lot.

"We have had challenges with people abandoning vehicles out here, storing v

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