459.01 Definitions
459.02 Civil Liability for Parking Infractions; Arrest Prohibited
459.03 Parking Violations Bureau
459.04 Parking Ticket, Service, and Liability
459.05 Answers; Procedures
459.06 Failure to Answer
459.07 Hearing Procedure
459.08 Release of Impounded Vehicles
459.09 Nonliability of Owner
459.10 Parking Ticket Adopted
459.11 Parking Infraction Fines
459.12 Motor Vehicle Registration Hold Due to Nonpayment of Parking Infraction Judgments
The following words and phrases, when used in this chapter of the Traffic Code, shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section.
(a) “Parking Infraction” means a violation of the following sections of the Codified Ordinances of Cleveland, Ohio, 1976:
Parking Waste Collection Vehicles | |
Service Station Parking Restrictions | |
Continuous Violation Tickets | |
Statutory Prohibited Standing or Parking Places | |
Manner of Parallel Parking | |
Physically Handicapped Parking division (h) only | |
Manner of Angle Parking | |
Narrow Roadways and Alleys | |
Hydrant Side of Street | |
Hazardous Traffic Obstructions | |
Hospital Grounds | |
City Property | |
Distance from Theaters | |
Fire Lanes on Public and Private Property | |
Street Cleaning | |
Snow Emergency | |
Bus Stops and Taxi Cab Stands | |
Motor Carriers | |
Truck Zones | |
Trucks and Commercial Vehicles | |
Between Sidewalk and Setback Line | |
Tree Lawn and Private Driveway | |
Private Driveway or Private Property | |
Abandoned Vehicles | |
Reserved Street Parking for U.S. Marshal | |
Valet Parking/Passenger Drop off-Pick up Zones Established; Violations, divisions (e) and (f) only | |
Parking Regulations in Parking Meter Zones | |
Parking Violations | |
Parking Regulations | |
Reserved Parking Spaces at Willard Park Garage | |
Violations, divisions (a), (b), (c) and (d) only | |
Prohibitions, division (a) only; and | |
Parking Areas | |
(b) “Vehicles” has the same meaning as in RC 4511.01.
(c) “Violations Clerk” means the Clerk of the Cleveland Municipal Court.
(d) “Parking Violations Bureau” means the bureau established by the Council of the City of Cleveland pursuant to RC 4521.04 and Section 459.03 hereof.
(e) “Law Enforcement Officer” has the same meaning as in division (k) of Section 601.01 of these Codified Ordinances and shall also mean employees of the City whose duties include the issuance of parking infraction tickets while engaged in such duty.
(f) “Notification of Infraction” means the notice mailed to the owner or operator of a vehicle involved in a parking infraction pursuant to RC 4521.07 and Section 459.06 hereof.
(g) “Rush Hour Parking Infraction” means a violation of division (n) of Section 451.03 of these Codified Ordinances, occurring on the streets and roadways and during the times specified in Rule Nos. 3, 3-A, 3-B, 4, and 4-A adopted by the Director of Public Safety, as the same may be amended from time to time.
(h) “Court” or “Municipal Court” means the Cleveland Municipal Court, unless specifically identified as another court, in which case it means the specifically identified court.
(Ord. No. 645-06, § 2. Passed 6-12-06, eff. 6-16-06)
The commission of a parking infraction, as defined in division (a) of Section 459.01 of the Codified Ordinances of Cleveland, Ohio, 1976, shall not be considered a criminal offense for any purpose.
A person who commits a parking infraction shall not be arrested as a result of the commission of the violation.
(Ord. No. 1995-84. Passed 9-5-84, eff. 9-6-84)
(a) The City of Cleveland Parking Violations Bureau is hereby established pursuant to RC 4521.04. The Parking Violations Bureau shall be within the office of the Clerk of the Cleveland Municipal Court. The Parking Violations Bureau has jurisdiction over each parking infraction that occurs within the territory of the City of Cleveland. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, each parking infraction that occurs within the jurisdiction of the Parking Violations Bureau and the enforcement of each such parking infraction shall be handled pursuant to and be governed by the provisions of this chapter.
(b) The operating costs of the Parking Violations Bureau shall be paid by the City of Cleveland. The Clerk of the Cleveland Municipal Court is hereby appointed as the Violations Clerk of the Parking Violations Bureau, with authority to appoint deputy clerks, hearing examiners and necessary clerical employees. No person shall be employed as a hearing examiner unless the person is an attorney admitted to the practice of law in this state or formerly was employed as a law enforcement officer.
(c) The fine, penalties, fees, and costs established for a parking infraction shall be collected, retained and disbursed by the Violations Clerk if the parking infraction out of which the fine, penalties, fees and costs arose occurred within the jurisdiction of the Parking Violations Bureau. The Violations Clerk shall provide tickets for parking infractions to law enforcement officers in the Division of Police upon requisition of the Chief of Police and shall also provide tickets for parking infractions upon requisition of the director or commissioner of any other department or division which has employees whose duties include the issuance of parking infraction tickets. Any person requisitioning tickets shall account to the Violations Clerk for all tickets requisitioned at such times as the Violations Clerk shall request. The fine, penalties, fees, and costs collected by the Violations Clerk for a parking infraction shall be disbursed by the Violations Clerk to the City of Cleveland.
(d) The Clerk of Court shall have authority to contract with any non-governmental entity to provide services in processing, collecting, and enforcing 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 as prescribed in this chapter, or the ultimate responsibility of the Violations Clerk to collect, retain, and disburse fines, penalties, fees, and costs for parking infractions and monies paid in satisfaction of judgments and default judgments entered pursuant to this chapter. All contracts entered into by the Clerk of Court shall be subject to approval of City Council.
(e) The Director of Law and the Director of Finance are each authorized to enter into contract on behalf of the Clerk of the Cleveland Municipal Court for the collection of unpaid parking infraction judgments and default judgments. In addition to any other fees or charges authorized by these Codified Ordinances in relation to the commission of a parking infraction, the judgment debtor on unpaid parking infraction judgments or default judgments may be assessed an amount equal to the costs paid by the City to any vendor for the costs of collection of the debt.
(Ord. No. 645-06, § 2. Passed 6-12-06, eff. 6-16-06)
(a) The parking ticket adopted in Section 459.10 hereof shall be used by law enforcement officers in all cases in which a person is charged with committing a parking infraction within the City of Cleveland. The parking ticket shall be the summons and complaint for purposes of this chapter.
(b) A law enforcement officer who issues a parking ticket for a parking infraction shall complete the ticket by identifying the parking infraction charged, recording the license plate number, type, and make or model of the vehicle, and indicating the date, time, and place of the parking infraction charged. 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 also shall record on the ticket the name of the operator in a space provided on the ticket for identification of the offender, and then shall personally serve the parking ticket upon the operator. If the operator of the vehicle is not present, the officer shall insert the word “owner” in the space provided on the ticket for identification of the offender, and then shall constructively serve the parking ticket upon the owner of the vehicle by affixing the ticket to the vehicle in a conspicuous place.
Constructive service of a parking ticket upon an owner of a vehicle by affixation as provided in this division, 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, 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 of Cleveland 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 for purposes of this chapter. The operator of a rented or leased vehicle whose act or omission resulted in an alleged parking infraction shall not be considered an agent of the owner if the owner is engaged in the business of renting or leasing vehicles pursuant to a written rental or lease agreement and if the owner follows the procedures set forth in Section 459.09 hereof.
(e) Except as provided in Section 459.09 hereof, 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, fees, and costs arising out of the parking infraction. Any owner of a vehicle who pays any fine, penalty, fee, and cost imposed for a parking infraction pursuant to this chapter may recover the amount paid from the operator of the vehicle whose act or omission resulted in the parking infraction.
(Ord. No. 1995-84. Passed 9-5-84, eff. 9-6-84)
(a) A person who is personally or constructively served with a parking ticket charging the commission of a parking infraction may answer the charge by appearing personally before the Parking Violations Bureau or by mail. An answer shall be made within fifteen (15) days from the date of the infraction, and shall be in one (1) of the following forms:
(1) An admission that the person committed the parking infraction, by payment of any fine arising out of the parking infraction;
(2) An admission that the person committed the parking infraction, with an explanation of the circumstances surrounding the parking infraction;
(3) A denial that the person committed the parking infraction and a request for a hearing relative to the infraction. If the person desires the presence, at the hearing, of the law enforcement officer who issued the parking ticket, the person must request his or her 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 Parking Violations Bureau.
(2) A person who admits that he or she committed a parking infraction with explanation shall submit evidence to the Parking Violations 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 Parking Violations 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.
If the Parking Violations Bureau determines that the explanation mitigates the fact that the person committed the parking infraction, the Parking Violations Bureau shall eliminate or reduce the amount of the fine arising out of the parking infraction. If the fine is eliminated 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 eliminated or reduced and the person has not previously paid the fine, the person shall pay only the amount of the revised fine. If the Parking Violations Bureau determines that the explanation does not mitigate the fact that the person committed the parking infraction, the person owes the entire amount of the fine arising out of the parking infraction, and if the person has not previously paid the fine, the person shall pay the entire amount of the 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 ten (10) days after receiving notice of the Parking Violations Bureau’s determination, unless the amount due has previously been paid, the Parking Violations Bureau’s determination and the amount of the fine due shall be considered a judgment and shall be treated as if it were a judgment rendered subsequent to a hearing held pursuant to division (b) of Section 459.07 hereof.
(3) A person who denies that he or she committed a parking infraction shall be granted a hearing concerning the infraction. The Parking Violations 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 459.07 hereof.
(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 notifications of infraction pursuant to Section 459.06 hereof, and proceed according to that Section. Failure to answer the charge within the fifteen (15) day period provided by division (a) of this section, shall result in the imposition of an additional penalty of ten dollars ($10.00).
(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 Parking Violations Bureau.
(Ord. No. 645-06, § 2. Passed 6-12-06, eff. 6-16-06)
(a) When a person is personally or constructively served with a parking ticket charging the commission of a parking infraction in accordance with Section 459.04 hereof and the person fails to answer the charge within the time specified in Section 459.05 hereof, the Parking Violations Bureau shall send notifications of infractions as follows:
(1) If the person who fails to answer was the operator of the vehicle involved in the parking infraction at the time of the commission of the parking infraction and was personally served with the parking ticket, a notification of infraction shall be sent to that person, and additionally if such person is not the owner of the vehicle, as determined from the records of the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, a notification of infraction also shall be sent to the owner at his or her most recent address appearing in such records;
(2) If the person who fails to answer was the owner of the vehicle and was constructively served with the parking ticket, a notification of infraction shall be sent to the owner at his or her most recent address appearing in the records of the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
(b) A notification of infraction shall be sent within twelve (12) months after the expiration of the time specified in Section 459.05 hereof for the making of an answer, shall be sent by first class mail, and shall contain all of the following:
(1) An identification of the parking infraction with which the person was charged and the time and date of the parking infraction, which identification may be a copy of the parking ticket charging the parking infraction that was personally or constructively served upon the person;
(2) An identification of the amount of the fine, penalties, fees, and costs arising out of the parking infraction that are due;
(3) A warning that the person must answer the parking infraction charged in the ticket within thirty (30) days or a default civil judgment in the amount of the fine, penalties, fees, and costs due may be entered against the person;
(4) A description of the allowable answers that may be made and notification that the person will be afforded a hearing before the Parking Violations Bureau if he or she denies in his or her answer that he or she committed the parking infraction;
(5) An identification of the manners in which and the entity to which an answer may be made;
(6) A warning that if the person fails to appear at a requested hearing, a default civil judgment in the amount of the fine, penalties, fees, and costs due may be entered against the person.
(7) A warning that renewal or transfer of the registration of the vehicle involved in the parking infraction, if the vehicle is registered in this state, may be denied as provided in RC 4521.10 for nonpayment of judgments or default judgments entered pursuant to this chapter.
(c) A person who receives a notification of infraction pursuant to this section may answer the parking infraction with which he or she is charged that is identified in the notification of infraction in any of the manners provided in division (a) of Section 459.05 hereof for answers to parking infractions charged in a parking ticket. An answer under this section shall be made within thirty (30) days after the date on which the notification of infraction was mailed, and shall be in one (1) of the forms specified in divisions (a)(1), (2), and (3) of Section 459.05 hereof for answers to parking infractions charged in a parking ticket, except that if the answer includes payment of the fine arising out of the parking infraction any penalty, fee, or cost arising out of such infraction also shall be paid. The answer shall be governed by the provisions of division (b) of Section 459.05 hereof for answers relative to parking infractions charged in a parking ticket, except that any determination of the amount to be paid under an answer admitting the commission of the parking infraction with explanation also shall consider any penalty, fee, or cost arising out of such infraction.
(d) If a person who is issued a notification of infraction pursuant to RC 4521.07, and division (c) of this section, fails to timely answer, the failure to answer shall be considered an admission that the person committed the parking infraction, and a default civil judgment, in the amount of the fine, penalties, fees, and costs due may be entered against the person. Failure to answer the parking infraction within thirty (30) days after the date on which the notification of infraction was mailed shall result in the imposition of an additional penalty of fifteen dollars ($15.00).
(e) The sending of a notification of infraction, the filing of or failure to file an answer by the person to whom it is sent, the substance of an answer, the payment of any fine, and any other relevant information shall be entered in the records of the Parking Violations Bureau.
(Ord. No. 645-06, § 2. Passed 6-12-06, eff. 6-16-06)
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