454.01 Definitions.
454.02 Decriminalization of parking violations; impoundment and immobilization of vehicles.
454.03 Parking tickets; service and liability.
454.04 Establishment of Bureau; jurisdiction; costs; collection and disbursement of fines, etc.; contract for services.
454.05 Answering charges.
454.06 Failure to answer charges.
454.07 Hearings; judgments; appeals.
454.08 Nonliability of vehicle owner.
454.09 Parking ticket adopted.
454.10 Parking infraction fines.
CROSS REFERENCES
Local, non-criminal parking infractions - see Ohio R.C. Ch. 4521
Parking defined - see TRAF. 402.23
Impounding; redemption - see TRAF. 404.05
Parking generally - see TRAF. Ch. 452
Off-street parking and loading - see P. & Z. Ch. 1292
Parking of trailers - see B. & H. 1480.04
As used in this chapter:
(a) "Bureau" means the City of Avon Parking Violations Bureau.
(b) "Court" means the City of Avon Mayor's Court.
(c) "Local authority" means every county, municipal corporation, township or other local board or body having the authority to adopt police regulations pursuant to the Constitution and laws of the State.
(d) "Municipal Court" means the Avon Lake Municipal Court.
(e) "Parking infraction" means a violation of Chapter 452 of these Codified Ordinances.
(f) "Vehicle" means a device, including a motorized bicycle, in, upon or by which any person or property may be transported or drawn upon a street or highway, except motorized wheelchairs and devices, other than bicycles, moved by human power.
(Ord. 163-96. Passed 12-23-96.)
(a) A parking infraction shall not be considered a criminal offense for any purpose.
(b) A vehicle involved in three or more parking infractions, in which judgments or default judgments have been filed pursuant to Section 454.07, is subject to impoundment or immobilization by law enforcement officers of the City, without regard to whether the vehicle, at the time of impoundment or immobilization, is illegally parked.
(c) The owner of any vehicle impounded is liable for impoundment fees and storage charges as provided by Section 454.06.
(d) A vehicle impounded or immobilized under division (b) or (e) of this section shall be released to the owner upon the owner presenting a valid certificate of title to the vehicle to the Violations Clerk of the Parking Violations Bureau and either paying the fines, penalties, fees and costs due on the parking infractions issued or outstanding, or paying the judgments or default judgments which led to the impoundment or immobilization, or posting a bond equal to the amount of the fines, penalties, fees and costs.
(e) Notwithstanding division (b) and (d) of this section, a vehicle parked, stopped or standing on a public street or highway in commission of a parking infraction is subject to impoundment if determined to be in violation of Section 452.01.
(Ord. 163-96. Passed 12-23-96.)
(a) The parking ticket adopted in Section 454.09 shall be used by law enforcement officers in all cases in which a person is charged with committing a parking infraction within the City. The parking ticket shall be the summons and complaint.
(b) (1) A law enforcement officer who issues a parking ticket for a parking infraction shall complete the ticket by identifying the infraction charged, recording the license plate number and the type and make or model of the vehicle, and indicating the date, time and place of the infraction. The officer shall sign the ticket and affirm the facts it contains, and file a copy with the Violations Clerk. If the operator of the vehicle is present, the officer shall record on the ticket the name of the operator and shall then personally serve the parking ticket upon the operator. If the operator of the vehicle is not present, the officer shall insert the "owner" in the space provided on the parking ticket for the identification of the offender and constructively serve the parking ticket upon the owner of the vehicle by affixing the ticket to the vehicle in a conspicuous place.
(2) Constructive service of a parking ticket upon an owner of a vehicle by affixation as provided in this section, or by the procedure described in division (d) of this section, has the same force and effect, and potentially subjects both the owner and the operator of the vehicle whose act or omission resulted in the parking infraction, if different, to the same fine and the same penalties, fees and costs for failure to timely answer or to appear, if a hearing is requested, as if the parking ticket were personally served on both the owner and operator of the vehicle at the time of the violation.
(c) The original of a parking ticket issued pursuant to this section or any true copy of it shall be considered a record kept in the ordinary course of business of the City and of the law enforcement agency whose officer issued it, and shall be prima-facie evidence of the facts it contains.
(d) An operator of a vehicle who is not the owner of the vehicle, but who operates it with the express or implied permission of the owner, is the agent of the owner for purposes of the receipt of parking tickets served in accordance with this section, and personal service of a parking ticket upon the operator in accordance with this section constitutes constructive service upon the owner. The operator of a rented or leased vehicle whose act or omission resulted in an alleged parking infraction is not considered to be an agent of the owner if the owner is engaged in the business of renting and leasing vehicles pursuant to a written rental or lease agreement and if the owner follows the procedures set forth in Section 454.08.
(e) Except as provided in Section 454.08, when a parking ticket is issued for a parking infraction and is served pursuant to this section, the operator of the vehicle whose act or omission resulted in the parking infraction for which the ticket was issued and the owner of the vehicle involved in the parking infraction, if different, are jointly liable for the parking infraction and any fine, penalty or fees and costs arising out of the parking infraction. Any owner of a vehicle who pays a fine, penalty, fee and cost imposed for a parking infraction may recover the amount paid from the operator of the vehicle whose act or omission resulted in the infraction.
(f) No person upon whom a parking ticket charging a parking infraction is personally or constructively served shall be arrested as a result of the commission of the parking infraction.
(Ord. 163-96. Passed 12-23-96.)
(a) The City of Avon Parking Violations Bureau, hereinafter called the Parking Violations Bureau or the Bureau, is hereby established pursuant to Ohio R.C. 4521.04. The Parking Violations Bureau shall function within the jurisdiction of the Mayor's Court and shall have authority over each parking infraction that occurs within the territory of the City.
(b) The operating costs of the Parking Violations Bureau shall be paid by the City. The Mayor shall, within the authority granted pursuant to Ohio R.C. 1905.01, act as a hearing examiner, as defined herein, and shall appoint one or more Violations Clerks and necessary clerical employees.
(c) The fine, penalties, fees and costs established for a parking infraction, as established in Section 452.15 of these Codified Ordinances, shall be collected, retained and disbursed by the Violations Clerk if the parking infraction from which the fine, penalties, fees and costs arose occurred within the jurisdiction of the Bureau. The Violations Clerk shall issue blank tickets for parking infractions to the Chief of Police for the City, who shall prescribe conditions for issuance and accountability. The fine, penalties, fees and costs collected by the Violations Clerk shall be disbursed by the Clerk to the City.
(d) The Mayor has authority, with Council approval, to contract with any non- governmental entity to provide services in the processing, collecting and enforcing of parking tickets issued by law enforcement officers and civil judgments and default civil judgments entered pursuant to this chapter. No contract shall affect the responsibilities of hearing examiners or the ultimate responsibility of the Violations Clerk to collect, retain and disburse fines, penalties, fees and costs for parking infractions and money paid in satisfaction of judgments and default judgments entered pursuant to this chapter.
(Ord. 163-96. Passed 12-23-96.)
(a) A person who is personally or constructively served with a parking ticket charging a parking infraction may answer the charge by appearing personally before the Parking Violations Bureau, or by mail, within five days from the date of the infraction. The answer shall be in one of the following forms:
(1) An admission that the person committed the infraction, by payment of any fine arising out of the parking infraction;
(2) An admission that the person committed the infraction, with an explanation of the circumstances surrounding the infraction;
(3) A denial that the person committed the infraction and a request for a hearing. If the person desires the presence, at the hearing, of the law enforcement officer who issued the parking ticket, the person must request the officer's presence in his or her answer.
(b) (1) A person who admits that he or she committed a parking infraction shall, and a person who admits that he or she committed a parking infraction with explanation may, when he or she makes his or her answer, pay the fine arising out of the infraction admitted to the Violations Clerk of the Bureau.
(2) A. A person who admits that he or she committed a parking infraction with explanation shall submit evidence to the Bureau that explains the circumstances surrounding the parking infraction. The evidence may be submitted in person, or, to avoid the necessity of personal appearance, may be sent as affidavits and other documentary evidence, by mail. The Bureau, when it receives an answer admitting that a person committed a parking infraction with explanation, shall promptly determine whether the explanation mitigates the fact that the person committed the parking infraction and notify the person, in writing, of its determination.
B. If the Bureau determines that the explanation mitigates the fact that the person committed the parking infraction, the Bureau shall waive or reduce the amount of the fine arising out of the parking infraction. If the fine is waived or reduced and the person has previously paid the fine, the amount paid in excess of the revised fine shall be returned to the person. If the fine is waived or reduced and the person has not previously paid the fine, the person shall pay only the amount of the revised fine. If a person admits that he or she committed a parking infraction with explanation and the person fails to pay the amount of the fine due within five days after receiving notice of the Bureau's determination, unless the amount due has previously been paid, the Bureau's determination and the amount of fine due will be considered a judgment and shall be treated as if it were a judgment rendered subsequent to a hearing held pursuant to Section 454.07(d).
(3) A person who denies that he or she committed a parking infraction shall be granted a hearing concerning the infraction. The Bureau shall set a date for the hearing and notify the person, in writing, of the date, time and place of the hearing. The hearing shall be conducted by a hearing examiner of the Parking Violations Bureau in accordance with Section 454.07.
(c) If a person who is personally or constructively served with a parking ticket charging the commission of a parking infraction fails to timely answer the charge, as provided in division (a) of this section, the Parking Violations Bureau shall issue the proper notification of infraction pursuant to Section 454.06 and proceed according to that section. Failure to timely answer a charge may result in the imposition of an additional penalty as prescribed by ordinance.
(d) The issuance of a parking ticket, the filing of or failure to file an answer by a person personally or constructively served with the ticket, the substance of an answer, the payment of any fine, penalty, fee and cost, and any other relevant information, shall be entered in the records of the Bureau.
(Ord. 163-96. Passed 12-23-96.)
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