HomeMy WebLinkAbout1996-01-16 Ordinance 4325• •
ORDINANCE NO. 4325
ORDIRANCB OF THE COUNCIL OF THB CITY OF PALO ALTO
A.."!BND!NG CHAPTER 10.60 OF TITLE 10 OF THE PALO
AL'ro MUNICIPAL CODE CONCERNING CIVIL PENALTIES AND
ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW FOR PARKING VIOLATIONS AND
DECLARING THE URGENCY THEREOF~ TO TAKE EFFECT
DOIBDIATBLY
WHEREAS, Assembly Bill No. 408 (Chapter 1244) of the 1991-
1992 Regular Session of the California Legislature eliminated
criminal enforcement of motor vehicle parking restrictions and
substituted civil penalties enforceable through the local agency
where che parking violation occurs.
WHEREAS, Assembly Bill No. 1229 (Chapter 734) of the 1995-
1996 Regular Session of the California Legislature, operative on
January lp 1996, made amendments to the administrative review
process for contest of parking citations and notices of delinquent
parking violations.
WP£RE..:;s, the City must. rrake a.rnendments to those provisions
of Chapter 10.60 of Title 10 0f the Palo Al.to Municipal Code
adopted by Ordinance No. 4159 in order to conform its
administrative review procedure for parking citations to the
requirements of these recently adopted state law changes.
WHEREAS; this ordinance is promulgated as an emergency
ordinance with ii··rrtediate effect, due to the effeL-tive date of this
change in state law and the urgent need to conform the City's
administrative review procedures to the recent amendments to state
law.
NOW THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Palo Alto
ordains:
SECTION 1. Chapter 10.60 of Title 10 of the Palo Alto
MUnicipal Code, entitled "Parking Violations•, is hereby amended to
rea.d as follows:
•10.60.010 Parking violations punishable
as civil penalties. Violation of any provision
of Chapter 10. 36, 10 .40, 10. 44, and 10.46 of
this Title 10 (hereirlilfter referred to as a
•parking violation") shall be punishable by a
civil penalty (hereinafter referred to as a
"parking penalty•). These parking penaltie:s,
tcyether with any late payment penalties,
administrative fee~ and other related charges
shall be established by ordinance or resolution
of the City Council.
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10.60.020 ROtice of par~ Yiolatiaa. &nd
notice of delinquent parking violatioa.a. The
amount of the parking penalty applicable to a
parking violation and the time and procedure for
the registered owner or the lessee or rentee of
the vehicle to deposit the parking penalty or
contest the penalty shall be indicated upon the
notice of parking violation when it is served by
being affixed to the vehicle or as otherwise
provided by law. If the parking penalty is not
paid within the time and in the manner stated on
the notice of parking violation, the Police
Department or its designated processing agency
shall deliver or mail to the registered owner-of
the vehicle a notice of delinquent parking
violation.
10.60.030 Police Department review o~
parking violations. Within 21 calendar days of
the issuance of a notice of parking violation or
within 14 calendar days from the mailing of a
notice of delinquent parking v~.olation
(which~.;ver is later) , a person may request (by
telephone~ in writing, or in person} an initial
review by the Police Department. Upon this
review, the notice of parking violation or
notice of delinquent parking violation and all
penalties and fees based thereon may be
cancelled by the Pol:ice Department if a
detennination is made that either the violation
did not occur, that extenuating circumstances
make dismissal of the citation appropriate in
the interest of justice, or that the registered
owner was not responsible for the violation;
however/ under no circumstances shall a personal
relationship with any officer¥ public official 1
or law enforcement agency be grounds for
cancellatlon. The decision of the Police
Department shall be mailed to the person
requesting review.
10.60.040 Appeal of parking violati~ns to
Parking Ex••iuer. Within 21 calendar days from
the mailing to the person contesting the notice
of parking violation or notice of delinquent
parking violation of the results of the Police
Department's initial review, that person may
request (by telephone, in writing, or in person)
an administrative review before a Parking
Examiner by depositing the full amount of the
parking penalty. If the person provides proof
of financial inability to deposit the full
amount of the parking violation (according to
standards developed and included in the Police
Department's notice of decision upon initial
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review) , the requirement for payment of the
parking penalty as a prerequisite to contesting
it shall be waived. If the vehicle is
immobilized or impounded for unpaid parking
violations, the requir~ment for payment of
parking penalties as a prerequisite to
contesting them shall also be waived.
10.60. 040 Designation and qualifications
of Parking Examiner. The City Manager shall
designate a Parking Examiner having the
qualifications, training, and objectivity
necessary to perform the duties of that
position. The Parking Examiner shall not be
employed, rnanagedt or controlled by a person
whose primary duties are parking enforcement,
parking citation, processing, collection, or
issuance. The Parking Examiner's continued
employment, performance evaluation,
compensation, and benefits shall not be d.irectly
or indirectlv linked to the amount of fines
collected as a result of decisions by the
Parking Examiner.
10.60.050 Hearings before the Parking
Bxam~ner. The Parking Examiner shall notify the
person contesting the parking penalty of the
date and time scheduled for hearing and provide
the option of proceeding OL a written statement
or in person at that time. The hearing shall be
conducted within the boundaries of the City
within ninety {90} calendar days following
receipt of the request for an administrative
hearing; provided, however, that the person
requesting the hearing shall be entitled to one
continuance not exceeding 21 calendar days~ If
the person requesting a hearing is a minor, that
person shall be permitted to appear at a hearing
or admit responsibility for the parking
violation without the necessity of the
appointment of a guardian and may be proceeded
against in the same manner as against an adult.
Prima facie evidence of the parking violation
shall be established by the Police Department~s
production at the hearing of the notice of
parking violation {or a copy thereof),
information from the California Department of
Motor Vehicles identifying the registered owner
of the vehicle, and the decision of the Police
Department being contested. Hearings shall be
conducted informally, to be guided by rules of
legal evidence, according to written procedures
established by the Police Department and
approved by the City Manager. The appellant
shall be entitled to testify and to present
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witnesses. Upon completion of the hearing, the
Parking Examiner may cancel the notice of
parking violation and all penalties and fees
based thereon if a determination is made that
either the v.iolation did not occur, that
extenuating circumstances make dismissal of the
citation appropriate in the interest of justice,
or that the registered owner was not responsible
for the violation; however, under no
circumstances shall a personal relationship with
any officer, public official, or law enforcement
agency be grounds for cancellation. The
decision of the Parking Examiner shall be mailed
or personally delivered to the appellant and
shall be final and not subject to
reconsideration. Following a determination by
the examiner that a person has committed the
violation~ the examdner may allow payment of the
parking penalty in installments,, or the Police
Department may allow for deferred payment or
allow fu1· payments in installments, if the
person provides evidence satisfactory to the
examiner or to the Police Department, as the
case may be, of an inability to pay the parking
penalty in full. Unless cancelled by decision
of the Police Department or the Parking
Examiner, the parking penalty and all late
charges and fees based thereon shall be
collectible as provided by the laws of
California.
10~60.060 Per.mit parking in City lots.
(a) The city manager is authorized to set
aside any portion or all of any city-owned
parking lot for permit parking and to issue
per.mits therefor as provided in this section.
(b} 'l~he city manager may issue parking
permits upon application therefor and upon the
payment of a fee in an amount to be dete:rndned
by the city manager. Such permit shall
designate the parking lot for which it is issued
and shall be affixed at or near the center of
the rear bumper in such a manner that it can be
readily identified from the rear of the vehicle
for which it is issued~ Such permit may contain
such instructions as to its use as may be deemed
appropriate by the city manager.
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(c) The city manager shall install signs
adjacent to permit parking spaces indicating
that they are reserved for per.mit parking only,
and the holder of such a pe~it properly
displayed may park in any such space on the lot,
but only in such space.
(d) A vehicle with a permit shall not park
for more than seventy-two consecutive hours in
the same city-owned parking lot or structure.
This subsection shall not apply to official city
vehicles.
(e) No person who owns or has possession,
custody or control of a vehicle shall park that
vehicle or allow it to be p~rked in any pe:r:mit
parking space adjacent to which there is a sign
indicating that such space is reserved for
permit parking only without displaying a valid
permit therefor. This prohibition shall not
apply to the use of such spaces during the
period from six p.m. to eight a.m. or on Sundays
and holidays."
SECTION 2 . This ordinance is an emergency measure
necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace,
health. safety and general welfare within the meaning of Article II
of the City Charter and shall go into immediate effect. The facts
constituting the necessity are:
Assembly Bill No. 1228 of the 19 9 5 -19 9 6 Regular SessJ.on of
the California Legislature became operative on January 1,
1996e In order to conform the City's adrnQnistrative review
process for parking citations to the requirements of state
law, and to preserve the safety and welfare of the public
provided by parking enforcement, immediate effectiveness of
this ordinance is required.
SECTION 3. The Council finds that the provisions of this
ordinance do not constitute a project under the California
Environmental Quality Act.
This ordinance was introduced at a regular meeting of the
Council of the City of Palo Alto on Tuesday, the 16th of January,
1996~ and was passed by a f0ur-fifths vote of all Council members
present at the meeting as follows:
INTRODUCED AND PASSED: January 16 , 1996
AYES: ANDERSEN, FAZZINO, HUBER, KNISS, ROSENBAUM, SCHNEIDER, SIMITIAN, WHEELER
NOBS:
ABSTE!-!TIONS:
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ABSENT: KCOOWN
APPROVED:
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